Escape
by JackPotr
Summary: A little something that has been bouncing around in my head. Has the whole range of emotions and starts after Final Battle and changes the whole Epilogue. Definitely Harry/Hermione
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter and probably couldn't even afford to rent it for a day.

AN: For those of you who are familiar with my stories, this one is definitely different. I have been on a Steve Winwood kick for about a week now and this is the result. It came around as a story made up of many ideas and inspirations I've had and you may see these ideas again whenever I get around to writing them. I wrote this in honor of who earned the right to be Harry's partner in life.

The Escape

Harry Potter came out of the pensieve in Dumbledore's office with tears streaming down his face. The things just revealed to him left him so stunned that he sat heavily in the leather chair that his mentor had sat in for many years. He had to die. It was the only interpretation that Dumbledore had come up with. There was no other way around it if he wanted Voldemort gone. He, Harry Potter, had to die.

He wiped the tears from his eyes and thought back on the people in his life that had influenced it the most with their deaths. He found it odd that so many people played such an important role in his life because they died. The parents he never really knew who gave him life twice over by sacrificing themselves. The older boy who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Harry snorted at that because he found himself in exactly the same position quite often. The insane godfather who died protecting him like he should have from the beginning. The red headed twin who had always been the older brother Harry needed. The werewolf who was the last remaining link to his parents. The so called grandfather who lied to him. The man who treated him like dirt but protected him just so he could die at the right time. His beloved owl Hedwig. If there was one thing Harry Potter knew, it was death. He had faced death enough times to be very familiar with it.

These truths and manipulations revealed to him were enough to make any man falter and for a brief moment, he considered just getting the hell out of there and leaving the magical world behind. There was only one thing that stopped him. It was the thought that he would be leaving the one person that meant to most to him. The one person he loved beyond compare and who had always stood with him. For quite a while now, she had been his reason for living. She would now be his reason for dying if only to protect her and make sure she would live.

He pulled on his invisibility cloak and made his way into the Forbidden Forest. He avoided everyone, especially her, along the way so that he wouldn't lose his nerve. His fears resurfaced when he spoke with the spirits of his parents along with Sirius and Remus. Their conversation helped him realize that they were alright with what they had done and they had no regret in dying for someone they loved. Harry's resolve was now reaffirmed as he knew he could do this for the person who meant the most to him.

Harry Potter had died and then lived and in the process killed the most evil man to have surfaced in the wizarding world in the last fifty years. It was like he was cursed and everyone knew it when no one ran to him in celebration. His former girlfriend ran into the arms of the one who had been there for her this last year while Harry had been gone. She and Harry would always be connected but in truth, Harry was happy for her.

His eyes moved around the room and took in the survivors until they landed on another scene. His heart shattered when he saw the girl he suffered and died for kissing his once best friend. There was nothing left for him to say or do. He quietly turned and walked from the Great Hall.

While the loss of Remus was hard, it was the loss of his hope that finally told him it was time to move on. Harry had been in love with Hermione ever since their second year at school and always told himself that once Tom was dealt with and the war was over, he would tell her how he felt. Again, another thing had been ripped from him as his heart broke when he watched her kiss Ron Weasley. Maybe it was jealousy or maybe it was something deep inside but he didn't think Ron was good enough for his Hermione.

Harry was worried about the relationship and didn't want to see her get hurt. He worried that Ron could not be the man someone like Hermione needed. Ron's insecurities ruled him often and it was these times when he hurt the people closest to him the most. His thoughts wandered back to their fourth year together and the fiasco that was his name coming out of the Goblet. His thoughts latched on the many times Ron had upset Hermione over the years. The Yule Ball and other moments should have been treasured forever by Hermione if not for the mouth of Ron. His thoughts then got stuck on Ron's abandonment of them while on the Horcrux search. Yes he had come back but Harry always felt that it was because he really had nowhere else to go. He could have gone home and in fact did go to his brother's house but from the looks Ron received there, it was more out of necessity as he was probably being berated and called a coward for not staying.

Harry knew he wasn't perfect either. He had dealt his share of pain to her but he never thought he was as bad as Ron. He always tried to show her how much he cared but all he could assume now was that she missed the signs.

**ESC**

Harry was now walking across the grounds and along a familiar path. If anyone other than the person watching him were observing his actions, they would have thought that he had finally lost it. Harry Potter was holding a conversation with himself out loud.

"So what do you do now?"

"I don't know but we need to get out of here."

"Going to run?"

"Why not? Its not like there's anything holding me here anymore."

"They'll all be hurt."

"They'll get over it. They get their happily ever after while I get nothing. They owe me that at least."

"Yes I suppose but is that really why you want to run?"

"NO! I just can't sit back and watch that. I know it's my fault. I should have told her but I wanted her above everyone else safe. She's already risked enough for me."

"So what do you do now?"

"I don't know but I can't stay here."

"Can't or won't?"

"What's the difference at this point? I can't stay here and pretend to be happy that she chose the one that can't be trusted."

"Again can't or won't?"

"Both. I can admit that I am jealous of him but he left me too many times. He hurt her too many times. How can I just ignore all that?"

A dreamy voice said "Hello Harry."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh Hey Luna. Are you sure you should be out here alone?"

"I'm not alone Harry, you're here too. In fact it sounds like there are two of you right now. If you're not careful, people will think you been infected by me."

Harry blushed but chuckled. "You're probably right about that."

"What's troubling you?"

"To be honest, I did everything they asked and even though I won, I lost everything that mattered. What's left for me now? What do I do now?"

"I ask myself the same question most days. I guess you're just going to have to see what else is out there."

After her vague comment, Luna just walked away but Harry thought he saw her wipe her face as she left.

**ESC**

It was several days later and the Harry Potter who now roamed around the castle alone and in silence was not the same one who once thought of this school as his home. The loss of Hermione added to his burden and was the thing that pushed Harry over the edge. In the past, it was always Hermione that he talked to when things were stressful only now she was constantly at Ron's side and never sought him out.

The loss of his rock caused Harry's lack of a sense of worth to flare back up and the grief over the death of his parents, Cedric, Sirius, and now Remus and Tonks was starting to overwhelm him. They were all he had left and now they were even gone. Harry was fighting the demons inside him as he started blaming himself for causing all those deaths because he wasn't strong or fast enough.

It had always been Hermione who kept these demons at bay and now he had lost her too. He knew she was in the Great Hail with everyone else but he was too afraid that their eyes would reflect accusation and blame and he wouldn't be able to handle it. They were too engaged in their own grief to help him now. They offered each other comfort and huddled together with their families but no one remembered Harry had no family of his own and he had no one left to turn to.

It amazed him that while the rest of the magical world was in shambles, the Daily Prophet was back in business after a day. The stories of the valiant and powerful Harry Potter and how he had saved them once again were sickening to him and he knew that more than before, he had to get out of here before the fans started pressing in on him. It was why he avoided everyone now as he couldn't bear the looks of hope when he had none himself. He also detested the looks of adoration for an action that he did only because he was the only one who could. An action he was never supposed to survive.

**ESC**

Harry Potter walked into the Great Hall under his invisibility cloak. There huddled together in grief was the majority of the wizarding world. The Weasleys were making a good show over the loss of Fred and acted as if they had lost more than anyone else. He saw her right in the middle of it already acting the part of the dutiful girlfriend.

Harry was sickened by the show. Sure he loved Fred but they lost one person and were this distraught. Harry had lost everyone and was never given comfort in those cases. Whenever he was allowed contact with the magical world once again, everyone acted as if nothing had happened and that Harry was just supposed to get over it and pretend it never happened. The only person who ever treated him any differently was Hermione. And now she was fully integrated with the sheep.

**ESC**

Harry wasn't an idiot and knew that once the initial shock was over; they would be clamoring for their savior once again and would try to pull him in whatever direction they felt best. Even though he hated his fame, he was smart enough to know it was time to use it before anyone could catch on to what he was doing. He made a request of Kingsley who ordered a few people in the Ministry to sort out any issues Harry might have with Gringotts.

A package was delivered this morning containing a letter announcing the results of his request. He would retain the inheritance from his parents and Sirius but the Goblins refused to do business with him again. To further stress the point that they never wanted to see him again, they arranged to transfer the vaults to the Gnomes of Switzerland with the exception of the package that had been left specifically for him. As he opened the package, he took out a few vials of what looked like memories, some keys, various documents, and a few notes from his parents

He went through everything and smiled for the first time in a long time. He finally had everything he needed to escape England. He was thrilled with some of the documents his mother had left for him and at the explanations surrounding them. She had long ago seen the stagnation that was the wizarding world and managed to convince the Potters to allow her to invest some of their money in the non magical world. They found her results amazing and gradually more money was funneled to her for investment. In the end, she had moved three fourths of their wealth from the goblins and into muggle banks where the investments had continued since her death. The results of those investments meant Harry would never have to work again in his life. The other thing he found would give him the freedom he desired along with what he felt would be a peaceful existence where he would no longer have to deal with people very often.

Harry sat back against a tree and pulled his moleskin bag from around his neck. He reached in among his most treasured possessions and pulled out the elder wand. He had long since repaired his holly wand but something told him that this wand would always be safer with him. Especially once he carried out his plans. He then gathered up his papers and put them in side as well. It wouldn't do for anyone to figure out his plan to leave them behind or how he was going to do it.

The wand went back into its hiding place and he pulled out a gift Hermione had given him back during fifth year to help calm his troubled mind. The walkman CD player had been charmed to never need batteries and had been a source of companionship for two years now. Between help from Dudley and trips to the local music store in Little Whinging, he had added to the collection she gave him and now had a CD case that had been expanded to fit the massive collection he had acquired. After flipping through the selections, he finally pulled out one of his favorites and placed it in the device.

He laid his head back against the tree as the haunting melody began and the sound of Steve Winwood's Can't Find My Way Home echoed through his head.

Harry set the player to repeat and the song kept playing over and over. The song described his feelings perfectly. He was adrift as he would no longer endure the company of Vernon and Petunia and he had no where else to go. He and Dudley had put their childhood behind them and were closer than ever. He might have been able to tolerate the Dursley's household again if Dudley was there but he knew that his cousin was just as anxious to get out as he was.

The documents he received had told a story of Potter Manor being destroyed and the cottage in Godric's Hollow now being owned by the Ministry. He opened his eyes to look at the castle but it no longer had the same feel of home to him as it did in the past. The castle was now the embodiment of the pain, death, and misery he had been subjected to over the last seven years and he didn't want or need that reminder. It was this thought that convinced him his plan was sound and was what he needed to do for himself. He rose from his place on the ground and made his way to the gates of the grounds before looking at the address on one of his papers and then turning on his heel.

He landed in Kings Cross station where the Hogwarts Express stood silently awaiting to be recalled into service. His mood was lightened just slightly as at least there was one thing that had come through the war unscathed.

Harry made his way outside and headed towards his first destination. As his plan was to disappear into the non-magical world, he decided it would be best to get a post office box for his mail. Once he had purchased his post box, he made his way to his next destination. He approached a teller at the bank indicated in his papers and requested a meeting with the bank manager. After presenting his identification and the papers to the teller, he maybe waited ten minutes before an older lady escorted him to her office.

"Mr. Potter, it seems everything is in order and we are working to set everything up in your name as well as give you the methods to access your accounts. Do you have a preferred address that we could send your cards to?"

"Yes ma'am. I just purchased a post box so we could use that. May I ask how long this will take? I am planning on leaving the country for a while would like to get started soon?"

"I think we can have everything to you in a matter of days. It would not do to allow someone of your status with our bank to be unable to access his funds."

"Thank you for your time ma'am."

"You're welcome Mr. Potter. May I ask, do you wish to alter the investments or would you rather leave them as they are? They have performed very well but there are some markets that have recently started paying handsomely."

"I really don't know. I think I would have to learn a lot more before I could make an informed decision. Who is managing it now?"

"Honestly, no one. Our instructions on this account have been to let it stand until you came in and claimed it."

"Please excuse my ignorance but are you qualified to do it?"

"No Mr. Potter. I'm sorry but I don't have enough experience with that to feel comfortable filling that role for you."

"In that case, let's just leave them as they are for now. I'll start learning more about the subject and then use my mother's investment notes to form a plan."

The meeting ended and he made his way to the last destination in his papers. He found an empty alley and turned on his heel once again and then found himself standing at Pwllheli Marina on the coast of Wales. He looked around for a few minutes before locating the office and making his way there. Once inside, he handed his ownership papers over to the receptionist who quickly set up a meeting with the site manager.

"What may I do for you Mr. Potter?"

"My parents left me papers saying that something they had left me was stored here and I would like to inquire about it and its condition."

"Aye they did, and can I say she's a real beauty. I was a young crewman here at the time and once the bank informed us about your parents' accident, we pulled her out of the water and sealed her up until the day you came to reclaim her."

"I would like to have her placed back in the water and have her modernized and updated to today's sailing standards. If it is possible, I'd like to have all licenses or anything else along those lines updated and renewed. Do you have any idea how much this would cost and if I owe anything for the time she has been in storage?"

The man chuckled "Don't worry about that. The expenses have always been paid through your mother's bank and we will just submit the bill to them as we have always done. May I ask what you intend to do with her?"

Harry smiled "I plan to make her my home as I travel a bit."

"Can you handle a ship that large?"

"Yes Sir and before you ask, I plan to take my master's license as soon as she's ready."

"Very well. I'll see to it that she is opened up and cleaned from top to bottom. May I ask when you plan on boarding her?"

"As soon as possible but I think it will be several days before I can as I still have some things to settle before I start. How long will it take your crew?"

"Well that depends. We thoroughly cleaned her before we sealed her up but she has remained that way for seventeen years. If you can give us five days, I can assure you that she will be in pristine condition and ready for you. I happen to hold a master's certificate and am fully licensed to give you the test so I can help you with that as well as you get accustomed to her."

Harry stood and held out his hand. "Thank you Mr. Donovan. I guess I'll see you in a week."

**ESC**

Harry returned to Hogwarts and soon found himself approaching the Headmistress' office. When he was invited in, McGonagall asked "What can I do for you Mr. Potter?"

"I have special request."

She chuckled but said "I think any reasonable request you make would be granted. How can I help you?"

"I need to use Professor Dumbledore's pensieve for a little while if that would be possible."

She smiled "The truth is Albus left it to you so it is yours for the taking."

"Thank you ma'am but I just need to borrow it for a bit. It should remain here as I don't think I will have any use for it."

Her eyes narrowed. "May I ask what you are up to? You still have a year of schooling left to finish before you can become a fully qualified wizard."

Harry thought for a minute that it would not be a good idea to reveal his plans as those remaining would do everything in their power to stop him from leaving their world. "Yes ma'am. I am aware of that. My mum left me some memories and I would like to view them. She said something about insuring my future and I would like to hear her thoughts on the matter."

Harry knew he had played the trump card when she said "Oh! Well then in that case, by all means. Lily was a meticulous planner. She even rivaled Miss Granger in that respect so you should definitely listen to what she has to say."

"Thank you Professor."

He took the pensive and made his way to the Room of Requirement. He dumped the one marked "Watch first" into the bowl and quickly followed suit. Once out, he grinned as he placed his wand into the next vial and pulled out the memory strand. This was something his mother had tested and created and was not known to the wizarding world at large. He placed his wand to his temple and muttered 'accept'. Once he had done this, the strand inserted itself into his mind.

He repeated the process nine more times with the knowledge and information his mother wanted him to have. In the end, he was wiped out and used the couch he had the room form to take a quick nap. As he slept, his mind began rearranging itself as the knowledge and skills his mother had given him started to assert itself.

By the next morning, he had occlumency barriers as well as a host of other knowledge including her investment practices. The memory strands had even started the sorting process for his thoughts and memories. According to what he learned, this would be going on for several days depending on when he actually absorbed the memories. What he found the most exciting was that he had gained his mother and fathers' knowledge and skill with sailing the boat he had just had put back in the water.

**ESC**

After returning the pensieve, he left the castle again and used the next few days to disappear into London where he sat in a library studying investments and any changes that may have occurred during the skip in time. By the time his debit and credit cards arrived, he was already using the banking services to change some of his investments. Some were no longer performing as well as they once had and were transferred to new investments which had a high potential of return but also a lot of risk. Harry had never played it completely safe so he just went with his gut feelings. He smiled at the thought that his mother was the same way and it was her bravery in taking risks that made her the perfect Gryffindor. The one thing he did do was unload all the stock his mother held in Grunning Drills. He absolutely refused to deal with or support his uncle in any way.

**ESC**

Hermione Granger was getting worried. She hadn't spoken to Harry in days and could never find him when she was allowed to leave the presence of the Weasley family. She could tell that Molly was worried about Harry as well but with the changes in relationships amongst the friends, she never said a word. It then hit Hermione that they had done it again. Harry was alone as he dealt with all the death. It had to be especially hard for him to deal with Moony and Tonks death but she also knew that Fred's would have been just as hard on him.

She got up and Ron immediately asked "Where are you going?"

"To find Harry. He's been alone this whole time dealing with all this while we just sat here."

"We've had to deal with it too. We lost Fred ya know."

"Yes Ronald, I do know. But Harry has lost everybody. Remus was the last of his parents' friends and you know Fred's death wouldn't be easy on him either."

"Then why didn't he come join us?"

It was Ginny who answered "Because you idiot, he doesn't know how to. Not to mention seeing the four of us together."

Hermione said "How could I have abandoned him again? I promised to never do that."

Ron hugged her and led her back to her seat. "He'll be alright. Harry always lands on his feet."

Ginny thought to herself that it was only because Hermione was always there to keep him from falling too badly. She knew she should do something but to react too much would put a wedge between her and Neville. Her former relationship with Harry was already a touchy subject as Neville still felt he could never measure up to Harry. She knew she was more infatuated with Harry than in love with him and she also knew that what she had with Neville was what she had been seeking the whole time. She also knew that Harry would never give her his heart. It belonged to someone else who was too blind to see it.

**ESC**

Harry was once again leaning against his tree and patiently waiting for the next day when he would have a home once again. He had pulled out his CD player and was relaxing to the sounds of one of his favorite artists. He thought about how he had come to like him so much and it all went back to Hermione. He smiled as the song Valerie came on and remembered how he used to sing Hermione instead of Valerie. The first time he did it was after a DA meeting in the Room of Requirement. Harry was just glad they weren't dancing close as he was sure she would have felt the pounding in his chest.

His happy thoughts were soon brushed away by the next song. It was the first song they had ever danced closely too and it held a lot of meaning for Harry. A tear ran down his cheek at the thought of how he had lost her, his everything.

Harry turned off the CD player and laid his head back. He could still hear the song playing in his head. A few minutes later he felt someone sit down beside him and take his hand. Her other hand came up to his face and wiped the tears away. He then heard the dreamy voice from his chest as she hugged herself to his body.

"I wanted to tell you goodbye before you left. You've been a good friend and I will miss you."

Harry looked at the small blond and said "How did you figure it out?"

"It's not a hard thing to do if you pay attention. I can see the pain you are in and while I may not like it, I do understand and will always be here for you if you need me."

"Thanks Luna. I'm gonna miss you too."

"Do you know where you are going?"

Harry chuckled "Everywhere."

"I think the freedom of the sea will be good for you. I hope it will be as cathartic for you as your broom."

Nothing Luna did shocked him anymore and he chuckled when she had just named his escape route. "I hope so too. I just can't do this anymore Luna. Everywhere I look, I see death. I've got to get away from it or…"

"You've already done enough of that Harry. Its time for you to finally start living. For what it's worth, I love you Harry Potter."

Harry leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I love you too Luna."

She smiled up at him. "I'm sorry I'm not the one who should be here but if you ever decide to get over her, I'll be waiting."

Harry kissed her cheek again. "I'm not worth you doing that for Luna. If things change, we may see each other again and see where we both are but I doubt I'll ever be back here again."

"I hope you find what you are looking for Harry Potter."

He gave her a pained smile. "I don't see that happening. The best I can hope for now is a life of peace and tranquility. I doubt there will ever be anyone else who holds my heart the way she does and I won't stay around here and watch it."

"You could fight for her."

"I've fought enough and I won't drag her down with me. Maybe this is all for the best."

"When will you be leaving?"

"Before breakfast. I've done my part so I can do what I should have done a few years ago and made a new life for myself."

She kissed him one last time before leaving him to his thoughts. As she walked through the castle, she overheard a conversation and couldn't help listening in. She finally just walked away as she felt like Harry and didn't have the energy or desire to say anything to the one could have everything she ever wanted but was too blind to see what she really had.

**ESC**

That evening in the Great Hall, Hermione looked up and saw a shadow pass by the entrance. She knew it was Harry and made for the door only to see no trace of him. With a sigh, she returned to her seat and listened to the endless droning of Molly and the other adults.

The conversation then turned to Harry Potter and what they could do to get him interacting with the world again. She listened as Minerva talked about her short conversation with him the other night and how she said that he was working on his future and that it revolved around something Lily had left for him. She suddenly had a sharp pain in her chest as she realized she knew nothing about this and Harry was making plans without her. It was also obvious that whatever these plans were, they would pull him away from the magical world. It then hit her than Harry Potter was planning an escape. She should have seen it coming and would have if she had stayed by his side. The articles in the Prophet would have scared him to death as they were focused on all he had done. She knew the first thing Harry would think was that he would never be Harry and would never be left alone.

It then hit her that her choice in boyfriends had made Harry choose a new path and drove him away. She never said anything but she knew things were not the same between Harry and Ron after he had returned from abandoning him. It was obvious to her that Harry no longer trusted Ron and since she chose him, he no longer trusted her. Her heart cracked at that thought. If Harry had lost his trust in them then he had chosen a path that would lead him away from her and the rest of the magical world.

The next blow came to her emotions when Kingsley joined them in the Great Hall looking for Harry. He spoke of a deal with the Goblins that she knew nothing about. She listened intently as he said he found part of the deal troubling as the transfer of his accounts to the Gnomes of Switzerland was for far less than what was believed to be in the Potter vaults. Kingsley admitted he suspected foul play and wanted to discuss it with Harry before launching an investigation and approaching Gringotts. In the end, he had to return to his duties since no one had any idea where Harry could be and the one who did didn't offer any hints. As she sat there listening to the conversation, the knot in Hermione's stomach was growing at a fast rate. Her heart was screaming in pain at the thought of not having Harry in her life anymore.

**ESC**

The next morning at breakfast, everyone was surprised to see Luna sitting alone at the Ravenclaw table. When Hermione approached her, she saw the tears running down her cheeks and immediately asked what was wrong.

Luna brushed her off and then stood and walked out of the Great Hall. No one had ever seen Luna like that and they were concerned that something bad had happened. Her friends went and looked for her but she was like Harry and nowhere to be found.

When lunch time came and she slipped in to eat a bite, she was confronted by her friends. "What's wrong Luna? Please let us help you."

"How can you help when you are the problem? Not that you care but it won't do any good to look for him. He's gone."

Hermione's stomach clinched. "Who? What are you talking about?"

"Harry. He left this morning. From what I can tell, he's spent the last week preparing everything and now that it's ready, he left to find a new life."

"WHAT?"

"What is so hard to understand? Harry didn't feel like there was anything here for him anymore and he left."

"But we were here."

"Were you Hermione? You know Harry better than anyone. When he started pulling away, did you go drag him back like you've always done or did you just let him go so that you and Ginny could get some snogging time?"

She turned to Molly and said "And I'm really ashamed that you who claim to love him like your own son would allow it to happen. He just lost the last of his father's friends along with his brother and no one cared enough to ask him if he was okay. Isn't that the same thing that happened with Cedric and Sirius?"

Molly sputtered. Luna added with cold voice "Let me tell you one thing about Harry Potter. He didn't go through all he did to get revenge for his parents or Sirius or out of some ridiculous sense of duty to our world that you people tried to force on him. He doesn't give a damn about our world. The way he's been treated made sure of that. The only reason he stayed as long as he did and fought and died only to come back to fight again was for her." (She ended with her finger pointing at Hermione.)

Hermione asked "What are you talking about? Harry and I were never like that."

"Only because you were too blind to see it." She turned and looked at McGonagall and asked "Professor, out of all the students you had recently, who was the most obvious couple?"

Minerva smiled and said "I would have to say Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. Their affection for each other is legendary. They defended each other with their very lives and quite honestly, he went after the basilisk not only to try and save his best friend's sister but mainly because the creature had hurt Miss Granger. We always speculated that Mr. Potter's nobility was all that kept him from ever revealing his true feelings for Miss Granger because he knew the fate that awaited him and didn't want to add romantic feelings to the pain that Miss Granger would have to go through when it did happen."

Hermione gurgled out "He never said anything."

Luna said "Yes he did. You just never listened nor paid attention. Harry isn't like everyone else and you should know that. He expressed his feelings through his actions. His love was shown by his protectiveness and the fact that he would never turn his back on someone he cared about even when they treated him like the dirt beneath his feet."

Hermione looked at her dumbfounded. Minerva smirked and said "I would be willing to wager that Miss Granger also held her feelings back because she did not want to put any more pressure on Mr. Potter. If I could pinpoint the first time I saw it, I would say that things changed for Mr. Potter while Miss Granger was petrified in second year and Miss Granger had the same revelation at the end of third year."

Hermione asked "If you are so sure, then why didn't he ask me to the Yule Ball?"

Neville laughed "I can answer that. He was too scared to do it and by the time he got up the courage, you had already announced that you had a date."

Hermione sat down with her head in her hands as sobs began to come out of her. Ginny came around and put her arms around Hermione as Ron finally caught up to the conversation and stormed out of the Great Hall.

Molly waited until she calmed before placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder. She said "I always knew you would end up with one of my boys so I really can't complain. Now, what can we do to help you?"

Hermione shrieked "Help me what?"

Minerva answered "Help you to find your young man."

With tears running down her face, she replied "I can't right now. I was going to go find my parents and then bring them back. I can't go running after Harry right now. I've put too much on hold already for that man."

Neville asked "And hasn't he done the same for you? Didn't he jump on a troll's back and stick his wand up its nose to save you? Did you know that he never slept in his bed the whole time you were petrified? I asked him about where he was once and he told me that he cared too much for you to let you lie there alone. I was the last one standing with him at the Ministry. You never had to see his face and the utter despair that showed when you went down from that curse."

Arthur knelt in front of her and said "Hermione, if you give us the details, we can have our contacts in Australia track them down and then check on them. If needed, I will personally go and get them for you since they know me. Right now, Harry needs you and we need to know that he is okay even if he decides to leave our world. We owe him too much."

"You would do that for me?"

Arthur pulled her into a hug. "You hold the same place in our hearts as Harry does. You are part of our family."

She returned the hug with gusto. She looked to Luna and begged "Will you tell me what you know?"

"I don't know much. I know he plans on leaving by the sea and it has something to with his heritage."

Hermione sat there in thought for a minute before turning to Minerva. "The only ones who would know for sure are…"

Minerva placed her hand on Hermione's shoulder and said "Yes they would have known for sure but Lily always dreamed of having a sailboat and knowing James the way I did, he wouldn't deny her anything. He loved her that much."

Hermione rose from her seat and started out of the Great Hall. Minerva asked "Hermione, where are you going?"

She snickered and then said "To the library of course."

"Ours still hasn't been repaired."

Hermione did something very unlikely and giggled. "I know that. I meant one of the public ones. I need a computer so I can search sailboat registrations."

Arthur looked at her inquisitively and asked "You can do that?"

"Yes but I need someone who can help me get into the mindset of a Marauder. Hmm…Ginny, would you come with me?"

"Me? Why would you need me?"

"You've dealt with pranksters your whole life and you know as much or more as I do about Harry's family. I think you would be helpful in spotting possible names."

"I get that part but as far as Harry is concerned, wouldn't you fell better with someone else?"

Hermione walked over and put her arms around Ginny. "What are your feelings toward Harry?"

"I love him but not like that, not anymore. Harry needs someone special. He needs you. You just fit together and if I had been real friend, I would have seen that earlier."

Hermione snorted "Yeah, well you don't have the market cornered on blindness."

They left the grounds and apparated to London. Once in the main branch of the public library, Hermione went straight to the section with the public records and asked the attendant for assistance. Within minutes, she had Hermione set up and scrolling through the records. After about an hour, she found a record for a reactivated license that was submitted last week. When she saw the name and then showed it to Ginny, they both knew they had found him. A further search into the records showed that the owner was scheduled to be tested this week before a scheduled departure of this weekend.

As it was Monday, she knew she had a little bit of time to get some matters settled before she left with Harry. She knew she was being optimistic but she was not going to let Harry leave without her.

**ESC**

The evening she was leaving, Hermione received an answer to the letter she had sent to her mother. As she unfolded the letter, a credit card dropped out. In it her mother told her they were well and loved living in Australia. They has decided that since Hermione was grown now, there was really nothing holding them to England and that they were contacting their barristers and making arrangements to sell the house and the practice as they planned on staying. She urged Hermione to go by and get what ever she needed from the house before they arranged for everything to be packed up and moved. At the end, she told Hermione to go find her love while she still could and that they would always be there for her whenever she needed them. A fact she made clear with the credit card so that she could always go to visit them.

Hermione had settled things at Hogwarts and with Ron especially. Instead of the normal outburst of 'Harry always gets everything', she heard "You two have always shared something that we never did. I…I just want you to be happy so if this is something you need to do then go do it but if it doesn't work out, I'll be here waiting."

She gave him one last tender kiss before she walked out of the castle and his life. Despite his brave face, Ron was crumbling inside and was instantly supported by Luna. She said "Come on Ronald, we can commiserate with each other."

"Huh?"

"Let's go get a butterbeer and drown our sorrows."

"Okay"

Hermione apparated to her parents' back yard and used her key to get into the house. Her shrunken trunk was pulled out and with a wave of her wand; clothes and books were flying from their places and were packed into her newly expanded trunk. She took a stroll through the house to see if there was anything else she wanted as well as taking one last look around at what remained of her childhood. She had no tears as she learned that life was constantly changing. The only difference was that this new adventure with Harry would hopefully last a lifetime.

With the packing done, she shrunk her trunk and slipped it into the pocket of the shorts she was wearing. She locked the door on her way out and with one last glance at her former life, she turned on her heel and once again apparated into the unknown. She appeared in a secluded area outside the marina and made her way to the gate.

The guard asked "Hello young lady, may I ask your business here today?"

"Yes Sir, I was looking for Harry Potter. I was told he was here on board the Prankster's Lady."

"Yes ma'am that he is but I'm afraid you may in for a little wait."

She deflated "Please tell me he hasn't already left. I thought he wasn't leaving until the weekend."

The man smiled and said "Oh no my dear, he's out with Mr. Donovan. They are doing a master's testing and shakedown at the same time. The lovely lady has been in storage for a long time and we need to make sure she is seaworthy before he sets off."

"Oh thank goodness. I really needed to talk to him before he left."

"Mr. Potter doesn't talk much but I can tell from the look in his eye that someone hurt him. I hope it wasn't such a lovely young lady as you."

She frowned "It was but not intentionally. I was hoping to get a chance to make it right with him."

He looked at her for minute before saying "Slip 60. There are some chairs down there you can relax in while you wait."

"Thank you"

**LC**

She was sitting there for a while before she saw a beautiful sailboat coming into the harbor. The hull was long and sleek looking and painted a deep blue with red and gold striping. She had never studied or read up on sailboats but from what she saw, the sailboat appeared to be fashioned along the lines of some of the racing boats she had seen in movies. Leave it to James to buy a racing boat but the more she thought about it, it suited Lily's competitive spirit to have such a thing. As she thought about the name of the boat, she couldn't decide if it referred to Lily or the boat. She was sure that James would be as taken with it as Lily if he was as much like Harry as everyone said.

As the boat slipped into its berth, she overheard the conversation from on board. At first it an unfamiliar voice "I don't know Harry. I thought I heard a loud pop on that last tack. The wooden masts are good but the new aluminum ones are much better and lighter as well. I'd feel much better knowing that you have a good one."

Harry laughed "Alright Jason. How long will it take to get one? I'd like to leave Saturday if you pass me."

She heard another laugh "That's a good one. I'd pass you now if I could get away with it. You're a natural just like your mother but regulations have to be followed which means you'll have to drive me around another ten hours before I can sign off on it."

"Yeah, you just like riding around sitting on your ass drinking beer while I do all the work."

Jason laughed again "How else you gonna learn anything?"

"Thought you said I was a natural."

"Regulations and all that you know. Anyway, I've got a mast the right size since ordered it the other day when you arrived. I saw that same glint in your mum's eyes and knew you would be making her dance just like Lily did. I'll send the boys down to pull this one and then install the new one. It shouldn't take long if you have the rigging down already. If you do that, I'll even have them help you put it back on."

"Alright, I'll get to it. Hey, is there an electronics shop in town? I want to add a CD player to the sound system."

"Don't bother, I ordered that too the last time you said something about it. It should be here already. If it is, I'll send it down with the boys."

"Thanks"

Jason Donovan jumped down from the deck to the dock and started walking towards the offices when he saw Hermione standing there. With a smirk, he yelled "Hey Harry, I think you got company."

He turned to her and said "If you are the one I think you are, don't you dare step off that boat until he listens to you."

She nodded as she looked up and caught Harry's eye. They held gazes for a minute before her eyes wandered down his bare chest and strong legs that were sticking out under a pair of khaki shorts.

"You might as well come onboard but if you try anything, I swear I'll dump you over the side myself."

She started to climb on board when Harry held out his hand to her. Before she could grasp it, he asked "Are you here to take me back? Do you have any portkeys on you?"

She looked him in the eyes and said "No Harry, I just came here to talk."

He reached out and pulled her on board. She looked around and said "This is a beautiful boat Harry."

She could see the excitement in his eyes as he spoke. "Yeah she is isn't she? I still can't believe Mum and Dad left her for me. It's actually good that they did since the Potter houses were all destroyed. This is the only place I have left unless I want to rebuild and I'm not sure that's what I really want right now. Come on, let me show you around and then we can settle down to talk."

He walked her around the deck of the boat before taking her below. The boat was designed with a master's bedroom along with a smaller bedroom. When she commented on it, Harry told her that Dad had it customized for them and that the smaller bedroom was intended for him. According to what Jason had told him, the boat had only been sailed once before the accident. He went on to explain everything he knew about the boat saying it was built in the style of a classic yacht which is why it had the lines of a racer. She was also very stable and fast even in rough seas. She sat there stunned as he just went on and on about what obviously had become a passion for him.

She finally asked "Harry, where did all this come from? I mean, as long as I've known you, you've never said anything about sailing and you've always maintained that you've never even seen the sea except that one time before first year."

Harry laughed "Well, to be quite honest, you're right. Mum left me something special in where she gave me all hers and dad's knowledge about sailing along with several other subjects. She planned for a future in both worlds for me. As far as I'm concerned, I'm trading my Firebolt for this even though I'll keep it handy in case of trouble."

"So you're just leaving?"

Harry sighed "What choice do I have now Hermione? I can never be normal in that world again. Everywhere I go, I'll have gawkers and other people trying to hang on for whatever they can get from me. Hell Hermione, you've been with me for seven years now. Surely you've seen it."

"I guess when I stop and think back, I can see your point. The only thing is, we need you back there Harry. You give everyone hope."

Harry stood and started pacing. "Okay fine, I give them hope. What do they give me? The only thing I can think of is a headache and a bad case of paranoia. I should have left after Sirius died but I couldn't and now that doesn't even matter anymore."

"But you have a duty there."

"I DID MY DUTY HERMIONE! I don't owe them a damn thing anymore. They have controlled my life long enough."

"What about your education? You'll need it to get a good job."

Harry started laughing and walked over to a cabinet where he pulled out a small fire safe. "I've taken my OWLS and have fulfilled the requirement. If I want to learn more then I will. As far as a job (He pulled out a bank statement.) I really don't need one. As far as I see it, my job will be managing my investments. I don't plan to live extravagantly so it shouldn't be too hard to make my assets grow."

Hermione read the statement and her eyes widened at the balance. "That's a lot of money Harry."

Harry chuckled "That's just one of the smaller accounts. Most is tied up in investments and the rest is sitting in Switzerland with the Gnomes."

She forced a smile and said. "That's nice Harry. I'm happy for you."

"Come back up on deck, I've got to get that rigging down before the crew shows up and it'll give you time to come up with your next argument."

As she followed him, she noticed how light he seemed compared to last week and how his skin had taken on a healthier shade by being out in the sun. "I hate to admit it Harry but this life does seem to agree with you."

"Why shouldn't it? No pressure to save the world. No one wanting anything from me. I can just be me."

"Won't you get lonely?"

"Yeah, I guess I will but life at the Dursleys left me well prepared to be on my own. I guess it comes down to the fact that we've all got our own lives to lead and choices to make so it was coming eventually anyway."

It was about this time that the crew showed up and started taking down the mast, it was interesting for Hermione to watch as they were quickly swapped out and then Harry was helping them reattach everything. A few minutes later and another of the crew climbed out of the cabin and said "CD player is in Cap'n Sparrow, I just added it as another component since a lot of people still got cassettes."

"Thanks Sloth. Thanks guys, you think this will make much of a difference?"

The crew leader said "The way you drive this thing, you was gonna snap the mast one day."

Hermione asked "Is he that bad of a driver?"

"No ma'am but he should be a racer with some of the tactics he pulls. It was almost like he knows what the wind is gonna do and just ends up attacking the whole time. Craziest thing I've ever seen. Mr. Donovan said it was better than a roller coaster."

She smiled and said "He was like that at home too. He did all kinds of crazy things that scared us mere mortals half to death."

Another said "Yeah, the last of the pirates he is."

Hermione started laughing at that statement as the guys headed back to the shop. Harry got up and went downstairs and not a minute later, music was being piped through the speakers in the deck's seating area and she smiled as she heard songs that she was intimately familiar with. When Harry returned, he was carrying two cans of Foster's. As he sat down, he handed her one. As he took a sip, she could see him relaxing to the music.

She said "You already look like you're living island life. What's next? Jimmy Buffett and Margaritaville?

"Maybe. It would be a damn site more peaceful than the life I've led up till now. I've known you for too long Mi. Why did you really come here?"

"To talk like I said. I couldn't let you get away without a goodbye and at least a reason for disappearing."

"What does it matter? I'm gone now and you won't have me interfering with your life anymore. You and Ron can live in peace and Ginny won't have to worry about whether she's hurt me and can finally have someone who will give her the attention she deserves. I'm damaged Mi. I will never be normal so I'm going away so I won't drag any of you down with me."

She huffed "You are no more damaged than the rest of us. As far as Ginny, she knows she couldn't be what you needed either."

"That still leaves me as a hanger on for you and Ron."

"You forget who you're talking to. You know I can read you just as well as you can read me. I want you to tell me the real reason why you left and then I'll tell you the real reason why I'm here."

"Okay, you want the truth? I'll give it to you but you may not like it."

"Harry, I've been with you for seven years. There is nothing you can say to me that will change the way I feel about you."

Harry sat there for a few minutes. "The truth is that I couldn't stand seeing you and Ron together."

She smiled "Why?"

"Because I don't trust him to do right by you. You don't belong with him and should be with me. I've loved you since second year and I never said anything because of Tom and the stupid war. I couldn't allow you to tie yourself to someone who was going to die. Don't you remember last year?"

"How could I forget the stupidest thing I ever did? Harry, I convinced myself that you were going to die and the only way I could survive it is if I pushed you away. It was stupid and there's no way I can apologize to you enough for it."

"Why should you apologize? I've treated you poorly since day one."

"Yes, we had our little moments but you always made up for them. I may not have seen it before but after having my eyes opened, it is quite clear to me that you have always showed me how you felt. I figured out your childhood a long time ago and I knew you were emotionally stunted but never have I thought you didn't care. I just never really saw that you showed your feelings through your actions. Maybe it was my own insecurities coming into play. So what happened to decide on this?"

Harry sighed "It was always my plan to tell you how I felt once I had dealt with Tom. At the moment when everything I was trying to accomplish was done, I turned around and you were kissing Ron. It was then that I realized that I had waited too long and if you were happy then I was happy for you but that didn't mean I wanted to stay around and watch. I started making plans."

"Plans which included leaving me behind?"

"You are with Ron. I was not about to interfere. Remember when you cried for weeks after he left?"

"Remember how we danced and laughed? I ended it with Ron before I came here."

"Why?"

"Because, I've loved you since the first time we met but even more so after we saved Sirius that night."

Harry rubbed the back of his head. He looked over at her and asked "Is this a plot to get me to come back?"

"Not at all as this is a whole different kind of plot. This plot sees you taking me with you."

He looked up at her wide eyed. "What about school?"

"What about it? We can self study and take the NEWTS later if we decide to. Harry, I love you and I figured out something."

"What's that?"

"My life has no meaning without you in it. I think the reason we are stuck on this one CD is because it's been speaking to us the whole time but we wouldn't listen. I've got an idea."

"What?"

She stood and reached out for his hand. As she pulled him to his feet, she led him below the deck and said "Lock the door Harry. It's time we found our way home."

**ESC**

The two young adults were at first shy and nervous to take their relationship to the next stage. Both being virgins, their first time was extremely awkward but had improved by the morning and their third attempt. They fell asleep snuggled in each others arms and for the first time in their lives, they knew they were exactly where they should be.

Morning came early as Jason came by and told Harry that they would be going out after lunch. Harry got up and made them breakfast as he thought of last night and how peaceful he felt. When Hermione climbed out of bed, she pulled on one of his shirts and made her way into the galley where she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Harry?"

"MmHmm?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you?"

"Well, I kind of instigated this and I wouldn't want you to think I was going to take advantage of you then leave. I wouldn't want you to think me one of the fan girls like Romilda who was plotting to trap you with a love child."

Harry chuckled. "I won't have to become Mr. Granger will I?"

"Nice idea but no. I've got my heart set on being Mrs. Potter."

"Well, I would hate to deny such a beautiful young woman who makes my shirt look that good."

"I'm sure we could go into town and find a magistrate. No sense in alerting the whole world."

You don't want a big wedding?"

"As long as I say I do to you and vice versa, I'll be happy."

"What about your parents?"

"Well, they already gave me permissions as long as it wasn't with that Weasel boy."

Harry laughed "Your parents are smart people. You should listen to them."

"I'm here aren't I?"

**ESC**

The next few days became a flurry of activity as Hermione made lists of things they needed to do before leaving and then dragged him off to get them accomplished. The morning after there first night together saw them speaking to the magistrate in town as well as updating her passport. When she turned to look at him and ask if he had even thought about it, he pulled his out and gave her a smirk. They walked to an alley and apparated to his bank where Harry had her added to the account.

Once that was done, they were in a mall once she had determined that she did not have clothes suited for boat life as well as bathing suits that fit anymore. Harry had to endure a glare from her when he suggested she didn't need clothes on the boat and just settled down and let her go. He had to smile as she went about buying whatever she thought they needed. She wasn't about to let her husband go about life looking like a bum. The trip to the mall wasn't complete without a trip to the book store for Hermione to buy everything they had on sailing.

That afternoon, Hermione was sitting with Jason as Harry took pulled the boat out of the slip and headed out to see. Harry had to hide his amusement as Hermione was asking a million question at an astounding rate. When they got into open sea and Harry started cutting loose, he was surprised to see Hermione enjoying every minute of it. When he gave her a questioning glance, she replied "It's not a broom and if I fall off, the landing won't be so hard."

**ESC**

Minerva McGonagall was sitting at her place at the head table during dinner on Saturday evening when an owl landed before her and held out his leg. When she removed the letter, she recognized the handwriting and quickly tore open the envelope. A grin formed on her face as she read.

_Dear Professor McGonagall,_

_I regret to inform you that I will not be attending Hogwarts during the next session as my husband and I have decided to pursue our NEWTS through self study at this point. We both wanted to thank you for all you have done for us over the years. _

_After a long and painful negotiation, Harry bowed to my wishes and agreed to marry me. I have chosen to agree to the self imposed exile after he convinced me his reasons for leaving were justified. As I listened to his reasons, I found myself agreeing that he would never be able to live his own life in England and therefore would never truly be happy. I have thought about this over the last few days and realized that Harry is a creature of the air and as such, needs to be free to move unencumbered. The demands our society was placing on him would have been more successful than Tom was in killing him._

_Harry has informed me that I have a unique opportunity in front of me as I will be free to pursue academic interests to my hearts' content as we travel the world. After participating in a war based on blood purity, I find it hilarious that Lily Potter had the intelligence and drive to move the Potters from a moderately wealthy family to an incredibly wealthy family. I find the legacy she left me to be somewhat overwhelming but plan to follow in her footsteps and make an equally great contribution to the Potter family. In that regard, I have to agree with my husband that together we can accomplish anything._

_From the discussions I shared with you over the years during our Sunday tea, I know you grew up near the sea and will be able to appreciate this little tidbit. The Prankster's Lady is a fifty-seven foot traditional yacht that has sleek running lines and according to my husband can make ten plus knots with good wind. At present, we are loading her to begin our new adventure and life together..._

_Our first destination will eventually lead us to my parents but our course is undecided as there are so many places to see and so much to learn. Harry is laughing at my excitement and being very vague. I think he knows which way he plans on taking us but is keeping very quiet about it. He said something about the groom was supposed to surprise the bride with the destination so I guess I'll just have to trust in him._

_With Love and Respect and Best Wished for the Future,_

_Hermione Jane Potter_

_PS: It has such a nice ring to it doesn't it._

Minerva had tears of happiness running down her face when she finished the letter. She rose and faced the people in the Great Hall who all grew concerned at the tears on her face.

"I have an announcement to make. Hermione found Harry and well, she asked him to marry her. According to her, they were married yesterday and have left for their honeymoon."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: No I still don't own Harry Potter or any of the songs I used in my story.

AN: I was so happy with the responses I got that I had to add another chapter. In case you are wondering, Ravengrad's Runaways did inspire me a little on this story.

Chapter 2

Harry and Hermione made one final trip to London before they left England. It was going to be an expensive purchase, well nowhere near as expensive as the ring he had given her, but costly just the same. Hermione decided that she was not going to go anywhere with only the boat's radio as a way to keep in touch with people so she suggested a satellite phone. Harry bowed to her intelligence as there was nothing he could deny Hermione after their last few nights together. In fact, after they were married and the party that the crew of the marina threw for them, she had taken their activities to new heights that left a wide smile on Harry's face and her sporting a rather self satisfying smirk.

Before they were even back aboard, she had called her mother and gave her the number and told her everything that had happened over the last few days.

To Harry's embarrassment, Hermione chastised her mother for telling her sex was a bad thing and then went into detail over their activities while laughing at Harry's red face.

To make matters worse, Jane Granger asked to speak to Harry and after she voiced her happiness that Ron was not her new son-in-law, she made him promise her that he would take very good care of her daughter. Harry handed the phone back to Hermione where she told her mother that she would call her in a couple of days.

Hermione giggled at him and patted his cheek. "Don't worry love. Mum knew exactly where I was going and what I had planned. I _did_ call her before I left home. We're very open with each other."

"So that whole thing about promising your parents that you wouldn't have sex before you married was a lie?"

She giggled again and Harry wondered where this Hermione had been for the last seven years. "No love, I just told her I was going to ask my future husband to marry me and that I might have to be very convincing since he thought I didn't love him anymore."

Harry just looked at her for a minute before they stepped onto the dock where the crew was waiting to say their goodbyes to the young couple. After many handshakes and hugs, Harry climbed aboard and went to the pilot station as Hermione went below to stow their purchases. With a low grumble, the motor came to life and with a wave, the crew untied the Lady.

With a final wave, Harry eased her out into the channel turned her towards open water. He smiled as heard Hermione puttering down in the cabin and thanked whoever was listening for the life he now had to look forward to. He heard a click and then the speakers came to life. Out came a melody that he hadn't heard in a while and what made it even better was that he heard her sweet voice singing along with it.

He hummed along as she sang All I want Is You by U2.

As the song was playing, Hermione came up on deck and wrapped herself around Harry as he guided the boat toward their next adventure.

"Harry?"

"Yeah love?"

"Jason said you opted not to upgrade the winches and stuff to the electronic ones. Won't that make it harder to handle the boat?"

"Not at all love."

"Why not?"

Harry looked around and saw no one within eyeshot of them as they were already out in deep water. "Well baby, it's like this, we're wizards you see and we have an even better tool to use to help us with the boat."

Her curiosity got the better of her and she asked "And what is that?"

"Well my love, wizards have been sailing as long as there have been sailboats and ships. So the obvious thing is that we use our wands and magic to help us."

"But you never...never mind Harry. Jason wasn't in the know. You had to do it without magic."

"I needed to know how to do it anyway to get a better feel of her. You know as well as I do that magic cannot be the answer to everything. If you go down in the galley and open the secret compartment, you'll see the sailor's spell book my mum left me."

Harry laughed as she bolted off and then came back up on deck to sit in front of him. She caught him eying her legs as she stretched out. "Like what you see sailor?"

"Most definitely."

She chuckled and turned back to the book for a while. His movements caught her eye and she watched as he used his wand to unfurl the sails and then set them like he wanted. "You do that so naturally Harry."

"I know, it's kind of weird but it feels natural. Maybe there were Potter sailors and they passed along the gene to me."

"Well, that could be true but I think it's something different. With the way you flew and the way you say this feels, I'd say you were an air elemental."

"Never thought about it but you could be right. Guess you can put that on your research list."

She smiled up at him and then buried herself back into the book. It wasn't long before she caught herself looking at him as he guided the ship and looked so peaceful and happy. She looked over the stern and saw that England was becoming a distant speck and then looked at him once more and realized that a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders and he was finally free.

The emotions she felt urged her to get up and take her usual position of wrapping her arms around him as he steered. "Why do you put up with me love? I mean here I was burying myself in a book while you were doing all this."

Harry chuckled "Well the last few nights obviously come to mind but reading is part of who you are. You wouldn't be you if you changed that part of your life and I'm not about to ask you to stop something that has saved my life so many times."

"But sometimes I feel like I'm ignoring you. Like I have always done."

"Baby, I'm usually just happy to be around you but I promise if I ever feel neglected, I'll tell you or better yet, since I'm the captain, I'll make you walk the plank."

"Well I don't think that will be necessary Captain Sir. If you say something, I promise to put down my book and talk to you. I really want this to work"

"Deal, the good news is while we are cruising along like this, I'm content to enjoy the peacefulness of it and just let you read. We've got a whole life together to do everything we ever dreamed of doing."

She kissed his cheek and leaned into him. They rode that way for a while just enjoying the feel of each other as they sailed along.

**ESC**

Weeks passed by and no one on the magical world heard anything from the Potters. By that time, they had sailed down the coast of France and then around Spain and through the Straits of Gibraltar. Most nights they found shelter along the coast and spent the night in each others' arms. There were several sleepless nights where they encountered storms but Harry guided them through until they were in calmer waters. They were currently sailing in the northern part of the Mediterranean Sea and making stops at the different places they had expressed an interest in.

One of these stops had been in Marseilles to replenish their stores as well as look up an old friend. While Harry was servicing the boat, Gabrielle sat in the galley talking with Hermione about girl things. Harry thought this was only fair as she had only had him to talk to over the last few weeks. Before he knew it, Gabrielle was dragging Hermione off the boat and in her cute French accent told him they were going shopping. He just waved and told them to 'have a good time'.

By the time they returned, Harry was finished with the boat and only had to take Hermione food shopping. He noticed she was blushing furiously when he asked how the shopping trip went but let it go when she shook her head no.

By the time dinner time came around, they were joined by Jean and Appoline Delacour who insisted on taking them out to dinner. As they dressed, Harry asked "What was all the blushing about?"

Hermione replied "Um, Gabrielle purchased several new bathing suits for me as well as night clothes."

"Then why are you blushing?"

"Well love, they leave little to the imagination. In fact, one bathing suit is more like dental floss that goes around my waist and that's it."

Harry stood there for a minute with the thought of her wearing that running through his mind before huskily saying "I can't wait for you to model it for me."

"HARRY!"

"What? It's not like I haven't seen or handled it for that matter."

She huffed "Fine then, since she bought you one too, you can model for me as well."

Harry laughed. "Of course I will you just may never see me up on deck in it."

"But it's okay for me to parade around on the boat with both of my

cheeks hanging out?"

"Of course, as long as I'm the only one looking at those delectable cheeks."

"Oh my god, I married a perv."

Harry laughed. "Only for you love and if I remember correctly, you were the one who dragged me down here and had your wicked way with me. You shouldn't complain about the monster you created."

She huffed and said "Just shut up and get dressed Harry."

"Yes de…sweet cheeks."

"You'd better be glad I love you Potter."

"Oh I am Potter. I definitely am."

**ESC**

It would be another two months before they left the Mediterranean Sea and most of that time, they were accompanied by Gabrielle. Harry found himself stopping at many cities along the coast as Hermione and Gabrielle kept finding more things they wanted to see and do. Harry wasn't about to complain as he was gifted with the view of watching the two beauties sunbathing on boat deck as they sailed across the sea. By the time they made it to Cyprus and toured some ruins, it was time for Gabrielle to return to France so that she could prepare for her year at Beauxbatons.

They waited until Harry had once again returned to deep water and that was when Gabrielle gave them both hugs before activating her portkey to return home. She was sad to leave but very excited to go home and be able to brag that she had sailed around the Mediterranean with Harry and Hermione Potter. She shyly admitted that no one at her school would be able to one up her this year with their holiday activities. They made sure to take a lot of pictures on their journey and Hermione had even included one of her and Harry in a letter she asked Gabrielle to post for her as well as giving some to her to act as proof.

As soon as Gabrielle left them, Harry guided the boat towards the Suez Canal. The trip through the canal was slow as the convoy never made better than five knots and would take most of the day. About halfway through the canal, they had to drop anchor as they had to let a northbound convoy pass. Hermione decided that since technically they were still on their honeymoon, she would make good use of their down time and set out to prove to Harry Potter that he didn't just marry her for her brain. By the time the other ships had passed, it was a glazed eyed Harry who once again took the wheel and Hermione took her seat and stretched out in the seating area. If someone were watching, they would have been amused by the glances they sent each other as they cruised along. It was almost like a first date situation where they would catch the other looking at them and a blush would form on their faces.

Finally, Hermione asked "Do you think we married too fast?"

"Not at all."

"But we never even dated."

"Well not each other but we had other dates."

"But we cheated ourselves out of the whole dating thing."

Harry laughed "I may have been oblivious to a lot but I could still hear what was being said around me. The whole school has always thought we _were_ dating and were a couple."

"But…"

Harry chuckled "What is the purpose of dating?"

"To get to know someone you think you like and see if it could be more."

"MmmHmm…so if that's the case, we _have_ been dating for years."

"But that's not the way it's supposed to happen."

Harry laughed again. "Mi, we know each other better than most couples that have been married for years. How we got there doesn't matter to me. It's the fact that we got there."

"I love you Harry."

"I love you too, sweet cheeks."

She got quiet for a bit before saying. "I'm sorry for taking advantage of you with all the museums and everything else I dragged you to."

He gave her a grin. "Mi, have you heard me complain once? I'm just happy you're having a good time and as I remember it, it was what I offered as an incentive to marry me. Besides, the way you reward me has been well worth it."

She blushed "Yeah, I guess my excitement kind of boiled over into the bedroom. I'm sorry."

Harry laughed loudly and said "Hell baby, I'm not. I've been trying to figure how to get a book that lists every museum in the world so that we can visit them. I always knew how much you loved learning new things but I never realized you were _so_ _passionate_ about it."

"Prat"

**ESC**

Harry made use of the sailor's guide book Jason had given him as they made their way through the Red Sea. They made one final stop at a safe marina to refuel and get fresh water before they would make their run to India. They had been warned by some of the older sailors of the frequency of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia and had no plans to stop once they had left the Red Sea behind them. Hermione knew he was worried about being able to protect her and the boat but she finally convinced him to follow the course they had chosen.

"I know you want to be safe but what was it you told me about what we are? If they come after us, we'll just do what we've always done and fight it out."

"But the statute?"

Harry was surprised when Hermione said "Pssh, who are they going to tell? Besides, I know you have the elder wand. A few well placed blasting hexes and they'll be sinking or better yet, one of your wind spells can capsize them and take them out of the picture. A few pirates don't have anything on Death Eaters."

"I'm not worried about the pirates baby; it's the guns they carry."

"Well, you just make the best speed you can and I'll think of a way to make us safer."

When they came out of the Red Sea and entered the Arabian Sea, Harry was really on edge and alert. This one stretch was among the most dangerous in the world and was rumored to be littered with pirates. It was Hermione who came up with a plan that eased Harry's mind. As soon as they were out of sight of the other boats and ships, she brought him the elder wand and said "Its simple, cast a disillusionment charm over the boat and they will never see us."

Harry kissed her hard. "I knew there was a reason I kept you around. That's brilliant. Why didn't I think about that?"

She kissed him back and said "Because my love, that's why we are such a good team. I'm the brains and you're the muscle."

He pouted at her. "Great now you're comparing me to Crabbe and Goyle."

She rubbed her hands up his chest. "Yeah, like I would have ever wanted to see them in that swimsuit Gabrielle bought you."

Harry blushed but laughed as he cast the spell and the boat disappeared from sight.

**ESC**

It was a busy evening in Hogwarts as it was September 1st and the students had returned to the castle for the new school year. In a very unusual occurrence, a lone owl flew through the chamber and landed in front of Minerva just as she was beginning the welcome back speech. Every eye in the Great Hall was looking at her and saw the frown on her face at being interrupted. The owl sat there patiently but was persistent in holding out its leg for her to remove the letter.

Finally, she couldn't take the distraction any longer and stopped speaking to untie the letter. Everyone could see her displeasure but at the moment she looked at the writing on the envelope, her eyes brightened and a small smile formed on her face.

She surprised everyone by saying "Oh, you know the normal announcements. For you first years, stay out of the forest and don't use your wands in the hallways or Mr. Filch will be begging me to string you up. Now, dig in."

She made her way from the podium to her seat and eagerly ripped open the envelope. All eyes were still on her as a picture fell out as she pulled out the letter. Pomona reached down to pick up the photo and said "Oh My!" as she handed it to Minerva. Minerva's eyes were pulled away from the letter as she looked upon the photo and an honest to goodness smile formed on her face.

She took the photo in hand and said "Don't they look wonderful?"

Pomona could only nod.

The picture she was holding was taken by Gabrielle as they were sailing and it showed Hermione in a bikini with a shirtless Harry behind her with his hands on hers while she steered the boat. Hermione had her head turned and was lovingly looking back at Harry with a huge smile on her face. Minerva knew it was a muggle photo as it was in color and showed her two former students looking very tan, very healthy, and very happy. She could see the look of total contentment in their eyes and by the way they were standing so close to one another. Their eyes were once again shining with the lively twinkle they both had on the day they first came to Hogwarts when the world was new and exciting. They also looked completely different from the tormented and weary warriors she had last seen and it made her heart soar to think that they were finally free of the pressure they had been under for many years. Her eyes then turned to the letter.

_Dear Aunt Minnie, (Harry said to call you that.)_

_As I hope you can see from the photo, all is well and we are having an incredible honeymoon. We both admit that married life agrees with us and I have to say that I am as happy as I have ever been in my life. I'm beginning to wonder if I owe a certain favorite Professor of mine some kind of debt for pushing me in this direction. However, according to my husband, that debt is cancelled out because you waited so long to do it. I have to admit that I feel extremely blessed to have married my best friend. I have always loved Harry but never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that life with him would have been this wonderful._

_We've been sailing the Mediterranean Sea for a while now and picked up and old friend along the way. We stopped in Marseilles to visit the Delacour family and were then joined for the rest of our travels in that area by Gabrielle. She is becoming quite a beauty in her own right and I'm sure Harry didn't mind haven't both of us onboard dressed like I am in the picture. I have to admit the thrill he gave me as he may have glanced at her but his full attention was always on me. He actually told me that my allure was a lot stronger for him than any Veela's could ever be. You just can't help but love a man who says things like that when you can see in his eyes that he means every word._

_In a way, the Harry I married is not the same Harry I grew up with. You and I often talked about how passionate and focused he was when it came to something he felt strongly about. We both know where that focus has been over the years so you can imagine how overwhelming it is for me when he turned that focus on me. He was reading over my shoulder and started laughing at that comment. Now that I have him calmed down enough to get an understandable answer from him, he said that he felt the same way about me. When I demanded he explain, he said that I'm not the same girl he grew up with either and that it has only made him love me more. Merlin he is such a sap sometimes but I guess he's my sap and I'll keep him._

_I have to also admit that I am coming to love being spoiled by Harry as I'm sure you can already tell. My loving husband very graciously escorted Gabrielle and me to so many museums, art galleries, and libraries that I fear I adore him even more than before. The amazing thing is that he never complained once and truly seemed interested in everything we did. _

_If I regret anything, it is only that we may never return to England and in a way, I'm fine with it. The further we get from our former lives, the healthier and happier my Harry becomes. I know it is a long time away but I look forward to the day when I meet James and Lily as I have so much to thank them for. Not only did they save him when he was a baby but they did it again when they left him this boat and the means to escape his former life and find the happiness that has always been denied him._

_Our new life together is filled with love and happiness and I can say this is one Potter adventure that I am thrilled to be a part of._

_With Love and Respect,_

_Hermione J. Potter_

Minerva sat in her chair after reading the letter with a smile on her face as a few tears ran down her cheeks. Pomona looked concerned but Minerva waved her off with "Its fine. In fact it's better than fine."

Minerva was shocked out of her thoughts as Luna Lovegood stood and said "Headmistress, are you going to tell us what Mrs. Potter said and show us the picture?"

Minerva smiled once again and said "According to Mrs. Potter, life is incredible and she is having the best adventure she has ever had with Mr. Potter."

Luna smiled brightly. "I'm so happy for them. They both deserve it after all they did. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, may we see the picture?" Luna didn't fail to see the look of jealousy and anger flash across Ron's face as he was left out of the praise.

Minerva chuckled. "I don't think showing that much skin would be appropriate Miss Lovegood."

"But Professor, I think it would serve as a good example of the rewards of doing what is right over what is easy."

Minerva smiled at Luna and then waved her wand over the photo and expanded it to be life sized. The entire Great Hall went silent until someone loudly said "That's Granger?"

Ginny stood and said "NO! That's Mrs. Potter and you'd best remember it."

Minerva smiled as she looked out at the stunned faces. None more so than Ron Weasley who had come back to study for his NEWTS. Any murmurs she heard were _very_ complimentary towards her former students and if anything negative was said, it was only the voice of envy speaking. She even heard some of the pureblood young ladies asking the muggle borns where they could get swimsuits like that.

After everyone had been dismissed for the night, Ron made his way over to Luna. "Luna, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Of course Ronald."

"I wanted to thank you for your help when well you know."

"You're welcome Ronald. You were a help to me as well."

"I was wondering if maybe we could go to Hogsmeade sometime or even just spend some time together in the castle?"

"I appreciate the offer Ronald but I don't really think that would be a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Well, while you have changed some, I'll always remember you as that boy who was mean to me when Ginny and I played together and one of the people who always said hateful things about me behind my back. It would never work because quite frankly, I don't trust you."

Ron lowered his head. "I understand. For what it's worth, I am sorry for everything."

"I know Ronald but nothing you can do will ever change the past. I can be your friend but if you think it could ever be more than that, you're just deluding yourself."

**ESC**

Their next leg of their trip was a straight run to Kochi, India where they could once again replenish their fuel, water, and food. They decided that with the pirate attacks near the coast, it was worth the risk to make a run straight across. Hermione estimated that this leg would take about eight days of continuous sailing and they had worked out a schedule pull it off. Harry would sail the boat through the night using the compass as his guide while Hermione slept. He was at the point where he could just feel what needed to happen which was an advantage when sailing at night as they only had the moonlight to light their way.

The plan was for Hermione to relieve him at first light so that he could get some sleep. It was during one of these mornings when Hermione finally really understood what Harry had said a week ago. They had been together constantly for the last few months. They had done absolutely everything together and now that they had to sleep apart, she still felt content because they were together. There were no words needed, just the feeling that they were together was enough. For them, it was just like their time together during their adventures at school where they both put their full faith and trust in the hands of the other. Neither of them liked sleeping apart as it cut down on their honeymoon time but they both looked forward to when this leg would be over and they could once again share the bed.

On the morning of the third day, things started changing and the water became rougher. She was struggling to keep everything together without calling for Harry since she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. If people could see her now, they would probably laugh that she found sailing the boat to be as intellectually satisfying as any academic endeavor. Between all her reading and Harry's coaching, she was becoming a capable sailor and found herself enjoying the challenge that sailing on the ocean provided. She also used the time to make her lists and on the top was digging back into Lily' journal to see if there was a way to replicate what she had done for Harry. The skills he possessed went far beyond a mere knowledge transfer and if Hermione were able to have the same thing, she would be much more useful to Harry.

She woke Harry around lunchtime so that he could shower before taking the wheel once again and once he was back on deck, she prepared them lunch and even took great joy in feeding him as he guided the boat. Under normal circumstances, Harry would tie off the wheel and make little adjustments with his wand as he sat there with her and ate but the rough water kept his full attention today. After she fed him, she went back to the seating area but only managed to push her food around on her plate for a bit before giving up.

Harry asked "What's wrong love?"

"I don't know, I'm just not hungry and I feel really tired."

"Well go below and get some rest."

"But I feel like I haven't seen you in forever and I want to stay up here with you."

At that point, they encountered a huge swell and that was all it took. Hermione bent over and threw up all over the deck. Harry looked at her in concern and quickly tied off the wheel. He conjured a glass of water and held it out for her. As she drank, the urge hit her once again and she threw up once again.

Harry reached down and lifted her up and took her to their bed. Once he had laid her on it, he went to the medicine cabinet and pulled out a stomach calming draught and gently placed it at her lips. Once he was satisfied that she had drank enough of it, he kissed her forehead. "Get some rest love and yell out if you need me."

She slept the rest of the afternoon and through the night. The only time Harry left the wheel was to pee off the side and to check on her. The seas were getting increasingly rougher and Harry was beginning to have a tough time. On one of his trips to check on her, he loaded a bag with protein bars and water to keep his strength and hydration up.

By the time late morning rolled around, the boat was bouncing up and down giant swells. Hermione stumbled out of the cabin just as the boat lurched once again. Her stomach revolted against her and she once again threw up. Harry took one look at her and grew worried as her whole complexion was pale. "Back to bed love. You're in no shape to be up here."

"But you've been at it for almost a full day. You need your rest too."

"I'll be fine. I wouldn't sleep anyway knowing you were like this. Go back to bed and take the stomach draught again."

"But Harry…"

"Sorry Mi, I'm the captain and all that. Back to bed."

With tears in her eyes, she returned to their bed but the symptoms only increased. As she grew sicker, Harry grew more worried and started driving the boat hard in order to get to a port so that he could get her to healer. On the times he was able to check on her, he grew even more concerned as she had even been vomiting in her sleep.

He cast a 'scourgify' on the room and then picked up something he never thought he would have to use. It was one of those moments when she was half awake and she screamed "NO!"

"You will not abandon her to take me to a healer. She means too much to both of us."

"Baby, I can live without the boat but I can't live without you."

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't. I've known you long enough to know that this isn't something that's going away without help. We need to get you to a healer."

"No. Give me a dreamless sleep potion as well as another stomach draught. I then want you to cast a sticking charm to me so that I don't move and then get us to Kochi."

"Alright, I'll do it for now but if you get worse, I'll stick that portkey to your ass and send you no matter what."

Four days later, Harry was being directed into a slip in Kochi, India. He had driven the boat like a man possessed and had pushed well past both his and the boat's limits. According to his sailor's guide, it was supposed to be one of the better marinas and according to the world wizarding guide; there was a magical hospital close by.

As soon as he tied up, a man appeared and asked "Mr. Potter?"

"Yes?"

"I am Paranjay Patil the manager of this site. How can we help you?"

"Are you any relation to Padma and Pavarti Patil?"

"They are my nieces."

"Do you…"

"Yes Mr. Potter, Padma wrote me that you may be coming our way and to keep an eye out for you. She also said to treat you and your wife like family."

"Thank you, my wife is very sick and I need a healer."

Paranjay looked at Harry for a minute and said "Yes, for both of you."

"I'll be fine with a little sleep, now can you direct me to a healer?"

Paranjay smiled and pointed to a house on the hill. "My wife is such. Go get your wife and follow me to the front steps. You can apparate directly from your cabin; the people here are in the know."

Harry nodded and went below to get her, when he had her in his arms, he thought about where Mr. Patil had pointed and turned on his heel.

As soon as he arrived, Paranjay escorted him into the house and led him to a bedroom. "Place her there and I'll go get my wife."

When she arrived, she bowed to Harry and said "I am honored Mr. Potter. I am Preeti and our niece has written of you and your wife many times."

"It is I who am honored to have been welcomed into your home. Your husband said you are a healer. My wife took I'll several days ago and needs your help."

"As do you Mr. Potter." She waved her wand over him and said "Constant use of pepper up potions for the last few days. Dehydration. Physical exhaustion. No magical exhaustion so that's good." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a vial. "I expect you to return to your boat and crawl in bed after taking this. It will have you good as new by morning."

He pleaded "I can't leave my wife. I'll be fine."

"No Mr. Potter you won't. You are on the verge of collapse and need rest."

"Could you at least examine her and see what's wrong?"

She smiled at his dedication to his wife. It was uncommon to see such in the younger generation. "Very well, if that is what it takes to get you to go rest, then I will do it."

She turned and started waving her wand over Hermione and noted some of the things she noticed. "Your wife will be fine. She should be awake in the morning when you arise and you can come see her then."

She noticed Harry's hesitation to leave. "Mr. Potter, Harry if I may? You will do your wife no good if you collapse. Padma said to treat you like family and as far as Paranjay and I are concerned, you and your wife have become our children much like Padma is and Pavarti once was. I will swear on my magic to protect her with my very life if that is what you require."

"No ma'am that will not be necessary. I…she's everything to me and…"

She smiled at him. "There's no need for thoughts like that. The war is behind you and this is just a simple matter. Please go with my husband and get some rest so that you can be reunited with her."

Harry nodded as Paranjay led him out of the house and back down to the boat. As they walked, Paranjay asked him what all the boat needed.

Harry responded with "She'll need to be refueled and have fresh water added to the tank. The waste tank will also need to be emptied."

Paranjay perked up at that. "If you would allow us, we could make a few magical modifications to her that would eliminate some of these needs. We have discovered and tested a rune scheme that will cause you to never have to refuel or take on fresh water again. At the same time, we can add another rune scheme that will purify the waste and dump it into the water."

"That would be useful; will you have to take her out of the water to do it?"

"It is not necessary but it would make it easier. May I ask why you ask?"

"I need to inspect the hull for damage. In my hurry to get Hermione to a healer, I pushed the both of us way to hard. I'm sure the mast took a beating as well."

"I will have my crew make the modifications while you sleep and then we will go over the hull completely and see what needs to be done."

Harry nodded as he climbed aboard. "Won't you guys moving and working on the boat wake me up?"

Paranjay chuckled "If my wife gave you the potion I think she did, you won't wake till morning. Go get some sleep and leave everything to us. You took care of my family so allow us to take care of yours."

When Harry woke the next morning, he came up to the deck and noticed the boat was still out of the water. As he started to climb down the ladder, Paranjay called out "Good morning Harry. I trust you slept well?"

Harry chuckled "Like the dead."

"How do you feel?"

"Good as new. Any word on Hermione?"

"Preeti says that she will awaken shortly and that she has things under control again. She also said for us to get our business out of the way before coming back to the house. A lady should have time to make herself presentable before her husband arrives."

"Okay, so what's up?"

"You were correct about the mast. She showed signs of fatigue and we replaced her last night and inscribed runes on it to strengthen it. It is our hope that it will be the last mast you will ever need. We wanted to try something and we hope you'll approve. In the past, we have topped off the tanks and then inscribed the runes. For you, we left the tanks at a quarter full and inscribed the tanks at that level. We know that it will work as intended since it always has but this will give you the…"

"Advantage of making her lighter. That's great and should give me another five knots of speed. Did you also do the same with the waste tank?"

"Not quite, we tried a different scheme that is more along the lines of having the process work instantly so that the tank remains empty. If you were to pull into a muggle port for service, they would never notice the difference and just top them off like normal. In that case, the tanks would work as normal until they reached the level of the runes."

"You do realize that once we tell Hermione of your changes, you will have to explain it to her in detail."

"Yes Padma mentioned that your wife was quite the knowledge seeker. We would be happy to do so."

"How bad is the hull?"

"Not as bad as you think. We have found numerous stress fractures that need to be repaired."

"How long will that take?"

"The most of a month."

"Could magic fix it?"

"A 'reparo' would work but only in the short term."

"How long would it last?"

"An hour or maybe as long as a day."

"Okay, let me talk with my wife and we can decide then."

**ESC**

When Hermione woke, she found herself staring at a familiar looking Indian lady. She looked around for Harry for a minute as she thought he had portkeyed her to healer.

She gurgled out "Where am I?"

"You are in my home Mrs. Potter. Please allow me to introduce myself, I am Preeti Patil."

"Are you related to Padma and..?"

"Yes, they are my nieces or they were."

"I'm sorry; Pavarti's loss was hard on all of us."

"Yes, it was tragic but we remain proud of both our nieces for how they stood up to the darkness. I feel we owe you and your husband for helping them become the women they grew into."

Hermione nodded and then asked "Is my husband here or did he just slap a portkey to my bum as he threatened to do?"

Preeti laughed. "No child. He brought you to my door himself. He was in pretty bad shape as well so I had to threaten, beg, and then command him to go get some rest."

Hermione smiled "Now I know you are telling me the truth as I have to do the same thing with him when he gets stubborn. Where is he now?"

"I'm sure he is being kept occupied by my husband at the moment. He is doing as I asked so that we would have time to talk. It will then give you the opportunity to make yourself beautiful for you husband before you have to see him again not that it would matter with the way he looked at you."

Hermione blushed but then asked "So what is the diagnosis?"

"I'm sure you have already figured it out."

Hermione sighed. "Then I _am_ pregnant. I thought as much, the symptoms were too obvious."

"Yes, you are pregnant. All of the problems you had stemmed from your morning sickness that you couldn't recover from due to the extremely rough seas. I think I have you fixed up for now and have some potions and things to send with you if you choose to continue your journey."

"Does Harry know?"

"Not yet. I haven't spoken to him since I sent him to bed. From what I have been told of you and Harry, I thought it would be best to let you handle it."

"Thank you"

"What for?"

"If Harry finds out, he will seek out the Australian Embassy's magical section and obtain a portkey to send me directly to my parents."

"And that would be a bad thing?"

"Yes, for one, it would leave Harry alone sailing to Australia and I really don't want to be separated from him in any way."

"So you are not going to tell him?"

Hermione smirked "Not until we are past the point of no return. Will it be safe for our baby?"

Preeti giggled "Of course child, women have been doing this for a long time. As long as you follow my instructions and take the potions I'll send with you, everything will be fine as long as you see a healer first thing upon getting to your parents' house."

"But it's my first, won't it be more risky?"

"If I was your healer, and I am right now, my advice would be to don't overdo it but live your life as you have been and make sure you eat right. You are a strong young woman. Both physically and magically and both will help you keep your baby safe."

"That's it?"

Preeti smiled "Well there is one more thing you must do."

"And that is?"

"Are you and Harry very active sexually?"

Hermione blushed but nodded her head.

"Good! Then that shouldn't change. We healers in India have a belief that the baby is strengthened by coming into contact with his or her father's magical essence."

Hermione giggled and said "So I need to continue to shag him rotten for the good of the baby? That sounds like a good enough excuse to me."

Preeti laughed. "Yes, well let's get you up and into the bath. I'm sure my husband won't be able to hold off yours much longer."

**ESC**

After Hermione had bathed and dressed in clothes that had been sent up for her, Harry finally was allowed to enter the house. When he saw Hermione sitting in a chair, he ran over and was on his knees in front of her. The Patils excused themselves to offer the young couple some privacy and no sooner than they had left the room, Harry was kissing her passionately. "I was so scared I was going to lose you again."

She pulled him close and whispered "It's never going to happen my love. You are stuck with me for a long time."

"I love you Mi."

"I love you too. Now tell me how much damage you did to the boat in your mad quest to get me to a healer."

"It can wait, what's wrong with you? Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes love, I'll be fine and fit to travel in a day or so."

"What was it?"

"Well, it seems I picked up something while we were in the Mediterranean and it finally hit me on our way here."

"Did she cure you of it?"

"No baby but she gave me potions to help with the symptoms. She said these things usually take most of a year to run their course but there is nothing to worry about as it will work its way out eventually."

"Do I need to go to the Australian Embassy and get a portkey for you? I'm sure I would rejoin you in about a month."

"Absolutely not! I will not be separated from you and besides, Preeti said my being with you would help make me stronger."

Harry looked at her for a minute before saying "If you say so. You know I don't want to be separated from you either but a month is a lot better than forever. How about a compromise? I get the portkey but we hold onto it just in case you get like you did again."

"Okay Harry. I can live with that as long as you never threaten to stick it to my ass and activate it again."

Harry blushed "You remembered that huh?"

"Oh yes my dear husband I did. Now, it may take a little longer but we are going to sail at a leisurely speed to Australia and you will be in my arms every night as I remind you that you did not marry just my brain."

Harry smiled and kissed her again. "No, I married you for your heart. Your brain was just a bonus but I can agree to that."

"Now tell me about the Lady."

Harry's demeanor dropped and he said "Mast was damaged but they already replaced it and they did some modifications to her that Paranjay will describe in detail later."

"You do know me so well. Now what aren't you telling me?"

"The hull has stress fractures from the pounding she took in that rough sea. He said it will need to be repaired before we set out again. If it is done the normal way, it could take a month. They could cast a 'reparo' on it but Paranjay thought it would have to be renewed daily if not more. He said they weren't powerful enough to make it last longer than that. I told him I would talk to you and then we would decide together what we would do."

"Let me think on it for a bit. Now, would you be so kind to escort your wife around outside? I think it would feel good to walk on the ground for a bit and it will allow me to think."

As they left the room, the Patils were waiting for them and followed them out into the yard. Hermione said "We'd like to walk around for a bit so that we can talk and make some decisions. Where may we find you when we are done?"

Preeti said "We always serve lunch to the crew down in the main building at the marina. Why don't you join us then and we can answer any questions you may have?"

Harry and Hermione set off and he quickly asked "I see the wheels turning. What are you thinking?"

"You said Paranjay said it was a matter of power. What I'm thinking of is when you repaired your holly wand with the elder and it worked perfectly. A feat that was believed to be impossible."

"So you want me to use the elder and cast on the boat?"

"Why not? We're going to be here for another day at least and we need to do a little shopping anyway. According to Paranjay, if the spell was going to fail, it would do so within the first day so I think you should cast it now and then we can keep an eye on things until Preeti releases me to go. If the fractures reappear then we take a portkey to mum and dad's and then we return when the boat is ready."

"Okay, let's go tell them. I'm getting a little hungry anyway."

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you"

"For what?"

"Loving me so much that you would have left the boat behind for me."

He kissed her and said "Never doubt it."

She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked. "You're too good to me."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what I was thinking."

"What is it?"

"Well I was trying to figure out a nice way to ask Preeti if well…you know…it would be okay if we had some alone time. This last week has left me missing you bad."

She giggled "Why Mr. Potter, are you saying that you're whipped?"

"Damn right."

She giggled again and said "Don't worry about it. I'll ask her. I find myself craving your touch as well."

"Just my touch?"

She slapped his arm. "Hush, you know what I mean."

As they walked towards the marina in much better spirits, Harry said "Hey. I wonder if there are any museums here."

She stopped dead and growled at him. He knew he was in trouble so he did the only thing he could think of. He ran away laughing. The Patils looked up and smiled at the young man who was obviously enjoying being chased and yelled at by his wife. It was obvious that Hermione was also enjoying this lighter side of them.

Preeti smiled at her husband and said "Remember those days?"

"Yes, how could I ever forget? Foreplay was always the best part."

She kissed his cheek and said "Still is."

When the Potters finally joined the Patils, they were still laughing. Harry said "Keep watch on the wife. I need to go try something."

"But I'm coming with you."

"Nope, Paranjay was just going to describe the rune schemes that he used on the boat to make the modifications."

Hermione turned to Paranjay with a gleam and hunger in her eyes. As soon as he saw it, Paranjay started backing up in fear but Preeti stepped behind him so that he couldn't escape. It was then that Harry snuck off laughing.

A half an hour later, Harry joined Hermione at the table where she had engaged the rune master in conversation. She looked up at him and he smiled at the thoughts of how she would react to this later. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and said "All done."

He turned the Paranjay. "I cast the 'reparo' spell myself just now so we can go check it out when we are done here."

"But I told you it won't hold up."

"Yes you did but it was something that needed to be tried. If I did it right, it should still be good tomorrow. If not, then we have our answer and we'll have the hull repaired the normal way."

Preeti grabbed Paranjay's hand. "Padma always said that if you think something is impossible then you should just give it to you two and you would just do it anyway. She said Harry defied the rules of magic."

Harry laughed "I never knew there were rules only what you limited yourself to."

AN2: I'm thinking another chapter and then maybe an epilogue. Your response to the first chapter encouraged me to step out of the box and try something new. I hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or make any money off the characters by doing this.

AN: Sorry it took so long to update. Here's the next installment of the story and I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 3

That evening, Harry and Hermione were lying on the deck of their boat while it was still sitting in dry dock. Both were taking a great amount of comfort at being in each other's arms after their brief separation due to Hermione's sickness and Harry's almost suicidal dash to get her to a healer.

"Do you really think it will work?"

"Don't you trust me?"

"You know I do. It's just I know how much you are looking forward to seeing your parents and I feel like I'm holding you back from doing that."

"You're not holding me back from anything. I rather like having you to myself for the first time since we met. We'll be on our way soon and I know it will work but even if it doesn't, it will prove a theory of mine."

Harry chuckled "So I'm just a guinea pig to you then?"

"Of course, you very well know how I like to experiment with you."

Harry blushed. "We can experiment later. Right now, I want to hear your theory."

She gave him a surprised look. "You never cared about my theories before."

"Of course I did. I just never opened my mouth so that I wouldn't look like a complete imbecile. I mean, it's not like I haven't been trying to figure out a way to get you in my arms for the last four years so I wasn't about to give you any reason to stay away. I still think you would have been better off with someone who could hold an intelligent conversation with you."

She chuckled "You sell yourself short my love. You have always been smart and I found it very attractive. Truth be told, ever since that ride on Buckbeak, you were always the center of my fantasies. I just never said anything because I felt like I would never measure up to you. I may be the brainy one who taught you the spells but it was you who actually taught me how to use them. I'd say we were a perfect match. I am who I am because of you."

"Just as I am who I am because of you. Now, tell me your theory."

"Well, it began that day when you repaired your holly wand. It has always been taught that once a wand was broken, that there was no way it could be repaired."

"But I did it anyway."

"Yes you did. It kind of brings back what you said to Preeti earlier about the rules of magic. You've always thought that you could do anything with magic and since that is what you believe, then that is what happens. Your relationship to magic proves the theories about intent and imagination being main factors in casting."

"Okay, I'm following you so far but that doesn't answer how I did it."

"It's quite simple Harry, you believed you could do it and you did. I also think the elder and you formed a special connection. Maybe it was your link to the Peverells but in the right hands, the elder works on a whole different level compared to a normal wand. In your hands, the elder doesn't just repair things with magic; it restores the molecular makeup of something making it as good as new."

"So you're saying that my power combined with the elder along with what I want can make it happen."

"Yes exactly but I also think there is another factor involved as well. The elder was powerful with Dumbledore and Voldemort but not as powerful as it is with you."

"But actually I won its allegiance."

"Yes but think back to Ollivander and the wand choosing the wizard. Dumbledore was light, Voldemort was dark but the wand is neither. To me, death has always represented balance. Death is neutral in that he doesn't care which path you choose, he will take you either way. The wand bound itself to you because you aren't light but yet you aren't dark either. The life you led has given you a taste of both sides and whether you knew it or not, you were always neutral by preferring to do what you felt was right no matter what anyone else thought."

Harry blushed "I just did what I thought was best."

"And that what makes you the man I fell in love with. We may not agree all the time but I know I married a man of conviction who will do the absolute best for those he loves."

He kissed her on the cheek and said "I always felt the same about you and before you try to deny it, I seem to remember a certain incident in third year surrounding a broom that I never properly apologized to you for. It was probably then that I started realizing just how much you meant to me."

She pulled him down in to a deeper kiss and when they finally came up for air, she asked "So have you plotted a course for the next leg?"

He smiled "I made a rough course but wasn't deciding anything until we could sit down together. I have some ideas and I'm sure you have some as well."

"The only thing I request is that we take a nice leisurely pace this time. I want you in my arms every night so there will be no repeats of the last leg."

Harry saluted "Yes Ma'am. I think that is an order I can gladly follow."

She rose to her feet and held out her hand for him. As he took it, she said "I do believe I find myself craving your touch Mr. Potter."

He quickly rose and allowed himself to be led below. His eyes never moved from the shapely sway that was moving in front of him.

**ESC**

Harry and Hermione spent the next few days relaxing in Kochi with the Patils before setting sail once again. The 'reparo' spell had worked so well that Paranjay had called in his whole crew to inspect the hull inch by inch with the results being not a single blemish found. Paranjay begged to know the secret for a full day before Preeti stepped in as she saw her husband making Harry uncomfortable. In the end, Hermione suggested that they chalk it up to the legend of Harry Potter and leave it at that. From the letters from their nieces, both knew that there was a cloak of secrecy that surrounded the young couple and decided to do just that.

**ESC**

During those few days, Paranjay took Harry to the Australian Embassy that became very accommodating after learning who the portkey was for. Harry shrugged it off but deep inside he admitted that his fame was useful at times in opening doors that were almost closed in his face. Their return to Kochi saw Paranjay pulling Harry to the side before joining up with their wives.

"I wanted to give this to you before you left."

When Harry saw the book that was being held out to him, his eyes bugged. "Is that?"

"Yes but this one is a little different. This is a copy of the sailor's guide but for natives of the Indian Ocean and South Pacific."

"Huh?"

Paranjay chuckled "We have our secrets as well Harry. Most of the magicals who sailed these waters worked together to create a network of ports and safe havens. Dotted all along the waters are islands hidden by magic where you will always have a safe place to drop anchor and rest for the night. These havens are also under ancient charms that keep the waters calm."

Harry's eyes went wide. "That's just amazing. Thank you so much."

"It's the least I could do for family."

With a big smile, Harry said "Hermione told me last night that there wouldn't be a repeat of the last leg and that she expected to have me holding her every night. This will help make that a reality."

Paranjay nodded. "What you have with Hermione is a truly special thing. Take good care of her and don't worry about how fast you get there. It's the journey together that counts so take your time and enjoy it."

With a tilt of the head, Harry asked. "You're not just talking about sailing are you?"

Paranjay chuckled "Not exactly but the advice works well with sailing and life. Stop along the way and rest and just enjoy your time together. You've already dealt with the worst life has to offer so now you both should focus on the best it has to offer."

Harry sighed out. "I'm trying very hard at that but it is a concept that neither of us are very familiar with."

Paranjay put his hand on Harry's shoulder and smiled "Then you just need to play like you did the other day. Stop and go swimming together. Lie on the beach and just relish the peace you fought so hard for. Try to enjoy your life with her. It won't always be perfect but I promise you that together, you can do anything. You already have."

Harry nodded.

**ESC**

Not very far away, Hermione and Preeti were also having a talk as Preeti was giving her the potions she would need to take while she was on their journey. By Hermione's estimation, the trip that would normally take a month at the most would be stretched to at least two. For the first time since they had met, she finally had Harry all to herself and wanted to enjoy it as long as she could.

"So how far along am I?"

"I'd estimate around six weeks. I'd imagine your baby was conceived while you were sailing around the Mediterranean."

"When will I start to show?"

With a small smile, Preeti answered. "I'd imagine in another couple of weeks you'll start to show a little but it won't be until after you are in Australia before it really becomes noticeable."

"I guess I'd better cover up a little more if I want to keep this a secret or Harry will think I'm getting fat."

Preeti chuckled "Your getting fat wouldn't matter one bit to him. Harry only sees your heart."

**ESC**

As they laid in bed that night after Harry assisted in lowering the boat back into the water, they talked of their days and Harry told her about the book he had been given. The excitement grew in her eyes and he chuckled at her.

She huffed. "Stop it. I'm just happy that he gave us a way that we can actually spend the whole trip together like we did in the Mediterranean."

He cuddled closer to her and said. "So am I. That last leg was just terrible and I was just driving us forward while you lay down here all by yourself. I felt like I was failing you."

Her hand brushed his cheek as she gave him a tender kiss on the lips. "You've never failed me Harry."

Trying to change the subject, Harry said "So the first leg will be easy tomorrow. I figured I'd let you have the guide as we sailed so that you could plot our course as we sailed to Sri Lanka."

She gazed deeply into his eyes and asked. "Are we in any real hurry?"

"Not really. I was only trying to get you to your parents. It has been a long time since you have seen them. Why?"

"I saw a picture of an island in the Maldives and it just looked so beautiful."

He smiled. "So you want to go see them for yourself?"

She quietly whispered "Yes…I'll make it worth your while."

He laughed loud. "With that kind of incentive, how can I refuse?"

She gave him a kiss. "Thank you love."

He got up and padded his way to the bathroom quickly. She rose up as he went and let out a low whistle. When he stopped dead in his tracks, she said "Nice butt there Potter." The silence was broken as she started laughing.

Once he climbed back in bed, his hands went immediately to her bum as he started caressing it. He then snuggled up next to her and right in her ear whispered "Yours too Potter."

The close contact as well as his breath in her ear sent a shiver down her body. Not wanting to be alone in the desire that was now coursing through her, her hands slowly went down his body until they reached her intended target. Sleep was quickly forgotten as they shared their love and desire for each other.

**ESC**

The next morning, they were up early and dressed in their sailing clothes. For Harry, it meant shorts and a tank top with water shoes and for Hermione it was much the same. With the cool morning breeze blowing, they opted to wear light windbreakers to hold off the chill. As Harry started uncovering the sail and getting the boat ready to set sail, Paranjay and Preeti made their way down the dock and stood beside the Lady. Hermione was the first to see them and she climbed down and immediately had them in long hugs. When Harry saw what was going on, he stopped his preparation and climbed down as well. As soon as he approached them, the hug became a four way where he thanked them for all that they had done for them and making them so welcome.

Hermione was proud of how much he had changed over the last few months. The old Harry would never have hugged anyone but her. Her heart soared that the loving man she always knew was there was finally getting the chance to show itself in ways that didn't involve facing evil wizards and witches.

After helping Hermione back on board, Harry set about casting off the lines and climbed aboard. He went to the pilot station and fired up the engines. With practiced ease, the Lady eased out of her slip and turned towards the open water, with a last glance back at the dock and a wave, Harry pushed the throttle forward and guided them out into deep water once again.

When they were clear of land and traffic, the engines were shut down and Harry's holly wand was in his hand. Like conducting an orchestra, the sails were unfurling and beginning to dance in the wind and as soon as the wind caught them, the Lady surged forward on the next leg of their adventure.

As all this was going on, Hermione sat watching him as he set everything just as he wanted it and smiled at the peaceful look that came over his face. In his contentment, it was a while before he noticed her watching him and asked "What?"

She smiled "The only time I've ever seen you this much at peace is on your broom. I'm going to have a hard time ever getting you to live on land again."

"Hmm…depends."

"On what?"

"Where you are. I'll admit that the freedom this offers is very addictive to me after everything but I've come to find out that I'm even more addicted to you."

A wide grin formed on her face. "Oh really?"

"Of course, I may enjoy the freedom of flying and sailing but I _love_ you. When I thought I had lost you, this was the only thing I could think of to do where I might have remained sane."

She got up and wrapped her arms around him as she gave him a passionate kiss. "I don't think I'll ever get used to this side of you but I damn sure like it."

As the morning chill faded and they were far away from anyone, Hermione seductively took off her jacket and then removed her tank top. His eyes were fixated on her as he realized that she did not have a bathing suit top on. When she stood and started taking off her shorts, she turned around teasingly to show him that it was one of the thongs that Gabrielle had bought her.

When she noticed his eyes, she asked "Like what you see?"

"What's not to like?"

She giggled and stretched out on the lounge on her stomach giving him the perfect view of her attributes as she pulled out the sailor's guide and started reading. At one point she jumped up to Harry's enjoyment and ran down below. When she came back up, she had a pad and a pen and started making notes. He noticed every once in a while that she would tap a page with her wand and then make more notes.

After a while, she rolled over and sat up against the back of the lounge. As his eyes drifted down, she smirked and said "My eyes are up here mister."

"Yeah but those are down there. You do realize you are killing me don't you baby?"

She smirked. "I am not. I'm just giving you a preview of what you are going to get to enjoy later. Anyway, how are the modifications working out?"

"Um…I think I may have underestimated the benefits. We are probably doing close to seventeen knots. At this rate, we'll get there way before dark."

"Good, maybe we will be able to actually look around before bed."

His eyes roamed over her once again as she grinned at him. "So what did you find in the book? I haven't had time to really go through it."

"There are just so many beautiful places to see and I want to see them all. The notes also kind of gave me ideas of places I don't want to go. I know Paranjay said he had a cousin in Sri Lanka who could put us up for the night but there's a lot of political unrest there and with our luck, we would get dragged into it."

Harry laughed "Are you referring to the old Harry doesn't look for trouble, it finds him theory?"

She gave him a serious look before saying. "Well, yeah. We've finally won our peace, there's no way I want to give it up."

"Sounds good to me. Just keep marking the places we don't want to go and we'll go far around them."

She smiled "Okay baby but a lot of this depends on what we want to do."

"What do you want to do?"

She sighed "Everything but if we do that, we'll never get to Australia."

He smiled. "I'm in no hurry and we can always use the sat phone to call your parents. Besides, we have our whole lives to explore whatever we want. Just because we get to Australia does not mean we can't go back out again."

As he was talking, he was making little adjustments to the sails before his attention went back to her. "Just plot the course love and I'll take you there."

At midday, they shared a light lunch and by five, they were looking for a place to drop anchor. Harry chose to anchor them over a ledge where one side of the boat had fairly shallow water and the other side hung out over deep water. With no one still around them, Hermione remained in her brief attire and quickly dove over the deep water side of the boat.

She swam around for a few minutes while Harry secured everything and once he finished, he sat on the edge of the boat and watched her as she gracefully swam. She swam around to the shallow side and he moved as well to keep his eyes on the beauty in front of him. When she stood up on the sandy bottom, he whistled and said "Prettiest mermaid I've ever seen."

She stuck her tongue out at him and said "Considering the only mermaids you've seen were in the Black Lake, I don't know how I should take that."

He jumped in and they played in the water for a couple hours before their appetite got the better of them. The tight quarters of the galley offered quite a bit of distraction for them as they prepared their meal. The constant touching and rubbing of bare skin caused the meal to remain untouched for a while as they felt the urge to sate their desires for each other.

Once their desires were sated, they made use of the small freshwater shower as they thoroughly washed each other off and then lovingly dried each other. They finally got around to pulling on some light clothes so that they could sit on the deck as they ate their largely forgotten dinner.

With dinner finished, Harry quickly cleaned up as Hermione laid a blanket out on the sunning deck so that they could stretch out and stare up the stars. But as fate would have it, their evening was disturbed as the phone began buzzing to announce there was an incoming call. With a sigh, Harry went over and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Hey Mrs. Granger."

"I'm sorry. Hello Jane."

"Hermione? No, she stepped out for a minute."

"HARRY! Give it here you goober!"

"Hey Mum."

"Well we spent the last few days in Kochi, India with Pad and Parv's aunt and uncle."

"Yes Mum, we are trying not to dwell on it but it still hurts some."

"Yes, they were very sweet people. We know where the twins got it from now."

"Well at the moment we are lying out on the deck of the boat."

"No we aren't completely naked. I've got on a thong and Harry has on boxers."

"Yes, they are easier to get into."

"Yes Mum, he is VERY attentive."

"Merlin Mum, I don't ask you about you and Dad's sex life."

"Yes, I know you'd be happy to tell me but that is just so wrong."

"I didn't mean it like that. You are still a very attractive woman. You see, Harry's even nodding his head at that."

"What was that baby?"

"Mum, Harry said that after seeing you, he had no doubts that I would turn out just as hot."

"Harry, Mum wants to know if you are perving on her."

"Harry stop that! I'm talking to my mother."

"Yes Mum, we are extremely happy."

"What do you mean you knew we would be?"

"Well then why did you ever let me waste my time with Ron?"

"Uh oh Mum, Harry just went down below."

"Merlin Harry put that thing away. You're going to put my eye out."

"No Mum, he was waving his wand at me and casting a warming charm."

"No it was his normal wand although the other one warms me up pretty well too."

"Well right now, we are anchored in the Maldives. Harry told me we could go wherever I wanted so I've been plotting our course."

"We could be there in a month but I'm thinking more like two."

"Yes, I'd like to see you too but I AM on my honeymoon."

"Well, I guess I'd better let you go. Dad's singing THAT song and I know what it means."

"What do you mean I'm jealous? I'm getting attention no less than twice daily. How many times are you scoring?"

"That many? Damn! Harry, you're letting me down, Mum says Dad keeps her smiling no less than four times a day."

"At lunch too?"

"What do you mean I'm a disappointment?"

"Well he is sailing a boat on the open ocean all day."

"Well yes, I suppose I could do that."

"Yes, I'll try to do better."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Harry James Potter! I will not be outdone by my mother who is twice my age."

He sheepishly looked at her and said "I'm sorry. In your defense, you have been sick."

"That's no excuse. I will not accept my Mum scoring higher than me on anything."

"Yes Ma'am. Um…Mi?"

"Yes?"

"Who's the perv now?"

Harry didn't hear her answer as he jumped over the side of the boat.

**ESC**

The next morning, a thoroughly exhausted Harry climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts. He thought about not wearing anything as the thought of anything touching him down there at this moment made him wince in pain. He saw the phone lying there, picked it up, and headed on deck leaving Hermione sleeping soundly.

For the very first time, he punched in a number and sat down with his feet hanging over the edge. A sleepy voice answered "Hello?"

"Richard Granger please."

"Oh hey Richard. I've got a question for you."

"No, this is Harry."

"Harry…as in Harry Potter. Hermione's husband?"

"NO, I DO NOT HAVE RED HAIR!"

"Oh Ha ha, very funny."

"Well it's kinda personal."

"You're saying that now."

"Well, do you and Jane really do it four times a day?"

"Quit laughing, it's not that funny."

"Sir? Are you alright?"

"Four times a week? Thank God."

"Well your wife told my wife that she got lucky four times a day and that she was disappointed in her daughter."

"Yes, well your daughter thought I was not performing at my best and decided last night that we would make up for lagging behind."

"Please Sir, talk to your daughter before she kills me."

"Thank you; um…I have one more question."

"Vaseline? Okay, I'll remember that but what will help me now? It feels like it's gonna fall off."

"Really? Never would have thought of that."

"Thanks Richard."

"Bye"

Harry sat there for a minute before dialing another number.

A sleepy voice answered. "Hello? Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Hey Aunt Andi. How are you and Teddy?"

"That's good. I imagine he's grown a lot since I left."

"Wow, that much?"

"Yes, everything is great. I'm very lucky."

"Yes I know I should have told her sooner but it all worked out in the end."

"I know and I miss them too."

"Did you get the tickets?"

"Good."

"No you've got time. I figure we should be settled in about three months. It'll take us two more months to get there and then maybe give me a month to find us a home."

"Yes, I'm sure. I want to be there for Teddy and I think getting away from there will help you as well."

"Yes Ma'am. I'll keep you posted but try to be ready by that time."

"I love you too. Give my love to Teddy. Bye."

As he wrapped up his call with Andi, Hermione came up the stairs and heard him finish up. She quietly said "I think that's a wonderful idea Harry."

Harry turned around and looked at his wife standing there with just a robe wrapped around her. "I don't want Teddy to grow up without me."

"And he won't if I have anything to say about it."

"Thanks Mi."

She held out her hand and said "Come on, I think we need to wash off last night's activities."

She looked at him and for the first time saw real fear in his eyes and started giggling. "Am I that repulsive to you?"

Harry looked at her horrified before saying "God no Mi. You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life. It's just that the thought of sex right now makes me cringe."

He looked at her afraid that he had hurt her with his words when she started laughing. "Don't worry baby, I'm way too sore to even think about it right now. Maybe we can cast a numbing charm and an 'episkey' on each other so that we aren't walking funny all day."

Harry jumped up and kissed her. "While that body is to die for, that brain is just exquisite."

She giggled as they went down to the shower. When they were almost done, Harry said "She lied to you, you know."

"Who?"

"Your mother."

"What are you talking about?"

"I called your Dad before I talked to Andi. When I asked him, he dropped the phone he was laughing so hard."

"What did he say?"

"Well, if I understood him right, he said that four times was an _extremely_ good week in his book."

"Ugh, that woman!"

Harry laughed "Oh, I wouldn't take it so bad. It kind of reminds me of how Molly acted around Bill and Fleur after they got married. She was very adamant about grand babies."

Hermione didn't have anything to say to that so she just said "You're probably right although I thought she would tell us she was too young to be a grandmother whenever we saw her."

**ESC**

Once they were dressed, Harry went topside as Hermione continued to do stuff down below, she heard him raise the anchor and could feel him getting the boat underway and it confused her a little bit as they had talked about hanging around here until the next morning. She yelled up "I thought we were staying here today?"

"We are, I'm just looking around, there might be somewhere better to hang out."

"Okay"

She remained below deck until she heard the sails drop and the motor kick in. It felt like Harry was guiding the boat like he usually did when moving to a dock and so went to investigate. As she joined him on deck, she let out a gasp as she saw the resort spread out before them.

"What's this?"

"Um…Your Dad said there was an exclusive resort here and that I should give you a spa day and I thought it was a good idea."

"You know you're spoiling me?"

"And I'd just argue that you are worth it."

As soon as they docked, a concierge was waiting for them. "Mrs. Potter, your appointment is in fifteen minutes. We can make it if we hurry."

"But I'm not ready."

The lady smiled "Just leave that up to us."

Harry kissed her cheek and swatted her bum. "Go have fun. I'll see you later."

As Hermione was being pampered, Harry worked on the boat a little until he grew bored and then wandered into the resort. He found a couple of stores that he browsed in but nothing caught his fancy. He found that doing that stuff was just not fun without Hermione beside him so he made his way back to the boat. After a while, he fixed a light lunch and took out some books to read as he waited for Hermione to return.

When she arrived, she found him napping in the lounge with a book in his lap. She poked him until he looked up at her groggily. Once his eyes focused, he said "You know, waking up to such a vision is every man's dream but my wife will be back soon so you might better move along. She's scary when she's mad."

Hermione chuckled "I'm sorry but I saw this sexy man sitting on this boat all alone and was shocked that anyone would leave him alone. I hope you don't think I'm being too forward but I booked us a table for dinner."

"I'm okay with it as long as she doesn't find out. By the way, I like the hair."

"Do you really? I was worried that you would be upset that I cut my hair off."

Harry chuckled "Honey, I'd love you even if you were bald. What made you decide to cut it?"

"I've always had long hair and thought it was time for a change. I felt it went along with our new lease on life. Do you really like it? I can always brew a hair growth potion if you want it back to the way it was."

He pulled her into his lap and began to run his fingers through it. "No, I like it. It makes it easier for me to run my fingers through it and not get caught in the tangles."

"Are you saying you didn't like my hair long?"

"Not at all. If _you_ decide to grow it long, I would be fine with that too. I know how hard it was for you to take care of it at school so I can only imagine what the wind, sun, and sea water are doing to it."

"It helps that you wash it everyday for me."

Harry chuckled. "It's the only thing that works almost as well as a good museum."

She slapped his arm and said "Get up and get dressed. Wear something nice."

"Yes Ma'am."

**ESC**

After the dinner passed, Hermione led him to a villa in the resort for the night where they were to spend the night.

Harry looked at her in surprise and asked. "When did you arrange this?"

"While I was at the spa. You spoiled me so I thought to do the same for you."

"How did you do it?"

She smirked "I'm Mrs. Potter and my husband did the most wonderful thing for me."

"What's that?"

She smirked "He gave me a credit card."

He laughed. "Did you do any shopping?"

"Only for the dress. It wasn't fun without…"

He took her hand and said "I know…I went to some of the shops and it wasn't fun without you either. We're quite pitiful aren't we?"

She kissed him gently. "No, I think it's perfect."

**ESC**

The next morning found them boarding the boat once again to continue their journey. The destination that Hermione had chosen next was the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. This leg would take at least two days and through her thorough research into the sailor's guide, she had already found and marked a stopping point along the way.

The place where they stopped was magically constructed but just as beautiful as the natural paradises they had seen and would see. As they stopped in the late afternoon, Hermione stood and pulled her tank top off and dove into the water. The graceful dive fully caught Harry's attention and it took him a few minutes to turn to the task at hand of securing the boat. The true greatness of this place was that he didn't have to worry about the wind or the sea affecting the boat and just a minimal spell tying the boat to a mooring post was all that was needed.

Hermione yelled up to him "Come on in, that water is wonderful."

That was all it took as Harry jumped off the boat into the water. She watched as he still looked uncomfortable and asked "What would you have done without me? I mean, you were going sailing around the world and didn't know how to swim."

Harry paddled over to her and soon they were floating in each other's arms. "I had my Firebolt if I ever got into trouble. I'd just summon it."

"Well you really need to know how to swim. Our play the other day helped but I guess I'm really shocked that you couldn't swim any better."

"Well, the Dursleys never took me and I haven't had much opportunity."

"But you did so well at the second task."

"Baby that was all gillyweed. Regular Harry sinks like a rock."

She huffed. "Well that just won't do. If we are going to live on the water then you need to learn to swim better. What happens when we have kids one day and one of them gets into trouble in the water?"

Harry smirked "I summon them."

She huffed again. "Not good enough!"

**ESC**

Thus began the swimming lessons every evening when they stopped. It was a testament to how clever Hermione was in her methods to motivate Harry. On one evening, he hadn't been in the mood and she decided to try a new tactic. As he stood there in the water, she reached behind her back and untied her bikini top. She knew if there was one thing, or is that two, that would catch his attention then she was about to show them to him. She pulled the top off and twirled it around her head before she said "If you can catch 'em, you can have 'em."

It was then she took off and swam away from him. As he fought to get to her, the teaching took hold in his brain and he started to swim towards her. Granted she was still much better than he in the water and made her way to the boat easily where she climbed up and had a shirt on before he ever made it to the ladder.

The lessons continued in much the same way until one night, she pulled off her bottoms and didn't make it six feet before her husband had caught her. As Harry was allowed to do what he was promised, she really couldn't complain as she found his reward very enjoyable as well.

**ESC**

Hermione's well planned course led them from the Maldives up to a wizarding anchorage and then on to the Andaman Islands. As they left those islands after about a day, their next stop was Nicobar Island. It was then that they had to make a decision. They were both torn between sailing between Malaysia and Sumatra and going back out onto the Indian Ocean to continuing their journey. Their sailor's guide suggested going around. The reasons were that the governments of Indonesia and Malaysia were often at loggerheads over different issues and the waters between the two were sometimes contested so it was best just to avoid them. The book also noted that while at one time pristine and beautiful, much of coastline between the two was overpopulated and some of the waters surrounding the islands had become polluted.

The first time Harry witnessed the destruction man was causing had him turning the boat out to sea and sailing well past the barrier islands. On the evening of his radical course change, Hermione asked "Why did you take us away like that?"

Harry sternly said "We've almost made it a ritual to swim together every night. I didn't want you anywhere near that."

"It would have been okay. I mean, we just wouldn't have swum for one night. It's not like we'll get to do it every night once we get to my parents."

"I just didn't want you in that water. It wasn't safe for you."

She looked at him for a minute before saying "You know don't you?"

"Know what love?"

"You know that I'm pregnant."

He smirked at her. "Yes, I've known for a while. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"How?"

"The potions you're taking and the ravenous hunger."

She indignantly said. "I'm not eating that much."

Harry chuckled "I'm not talking about Ron here. I'm talking about how horny you are most of the time."

She laughed "I was pretty horny most of the time before I got pregnant."

Harry smiled "Well yeah, I guess you got me there. Okay, how about I was curious one day and looked up the potions in the medical book we have."

"You did research? I'm so proud."

"Well, it concerned you and since you _are_ the most important person in my life, I wanted to make sure you were okay and not just telling me everything was fine so I wouldn't worry. You forget I molded that excuse into an art form."

She quietly said "Why didn't you say something?"

He got up and knelt in front of her. "Love, I've known you for a long time and I know you had your reasons. I trust you with all that I am so it didn't bother me as much as you think it does."

"But I lied to you."

Harry chuckled "No you didn't. You just told me what I need to know but not the whole story. Baby, you've been doing that for years."

A tear ran down her cheek and he reached up and wiped it away. "Once I satisfied my curiosity, I got mad at first and then realized it was really my fault."

"Oh not that again, everything is not your fault."

He kissed her lips gently. "Well in this case it is. You see, I know how protective of you I am and I realized that my actions caused you not to tell me. The old Harry would have gone crazy and we would have fought about it before I stuck a portkey to your ass and sent you to Australia."

"But…"

"Baby, if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it is to trust you. If there were any risks or dangers to our baby, then I know you well enough to know that you would have told me and then taken the portkey."

"I love you Harry and I'm sorry for not telling you."

"I love you too Hermione and even if you weren't pregnant, I still wouldn't have let that beautiful body get anywhere near that water."

She sighed "It's not going to be so beautiful much longer my love."

He softly replied "You will always be beautiful to me."

"Even if I blow up to the size of Molly?"

"Even if."

Her answer was to kiss him before saying "Thanks love but I promise to never let that happen."

**ESC**

The next week was spent slowly sailing down the Indonesian Island chain as they made their way to Australia. From the map he had, Harry knew they were sailing off the coast of Java and he started watching for the landmarks that would direct him to something he read about in the magical sailor's guide. It was another day before he saw it but as soon as he did, he corrected the course and made his way towards land. Hermione looked up from the book he knew she had read at least twice and asked "Where are we going?"

"Um…shopping?"

"Where?"

"The magical shopping district on Bali."

She smiled. "And how do you expect to get there?"

"Apparate?"

"Okay…next question…how do you intend to apparate if you've never been there?"

"The book has coordinates. I thought if we focused on them, we would show up where we needed to."

She looked at him strangely and then said "You know I've never thought about that and if anyone could do it, you can."

"Well I could go first to see if it worked and then come back or we could take my Firebolt."

She smiled at him sweetly. "I think I like the first idea better but why do you want to go right now?"

"I've had to sit here and watch you read the same books over and over. I think we need to find you some new reading material."

"It would be nice but it isn't necessary."

Harry smiled at her. "We have a couple more weeks before we get to your parents and I wouldn't want you to get bored."

"I'm never bored when I'm with you."

Harry laughed out loud on that one and replied. "Hmm…so that's why you sigh every time you pick up one of your old books."

She smiled sweetly back at him. "No I sigh because my husband is too busy with his boat for little old me."

"Oh, that's just so mean."

She chuckled. "How close do we need to get?"

"Not very. It's pretty close to the coast."

A few hours later, they were dropping anchor in a sheltered cove off one of the smaller islands. For extra security, Harry pulled out the elder and cast disillusionment charm on it before they left. With a quick kiss, he disappeared and then reappeared a few minutes later. After pulling her into a hug, he said "You're gonna love this." They disappeared and then reappeared in the middle of an ancient Buddhist Temple.

She looked around in wonder before Harry grabbed her hand and led her off. The next thing she knew, they were entering a door built into the largest temple that could only be seen by magicals. As all women can do, she quickly took in the magical shops and was soon off and pulling Harry behind her.

After an hour in the book shop, the pile had grown rather large before she was through. His eyes took in the pile and widened to which she gave him a sweet smile. "I love you Harry."

Harry took the load of books from her and made his way to the counter. As they arrived, Harry asked "Um…I didn't think to ask before we got here but what currency do you take?"

The clerk chuckled and spoke in clear English. "I take it this is your first time away from England?"

"Um yeah…how did you know?"

"The only wizards in the world who still ask that question are from England. The rest of the world follows the normal non-magical currency and every magical shop in the world takes Visa unless you're in Britain."

Harry blushed and handed over his card. The clerk read the name and immediately said "We are honored by you patronage Mr. Potter. If there is anything we can help you with, please just ask."

"Um…thanks."

The clerk looked at Hermione for a minute before saying "You must be the famous Hermione Granger."

"Potter"

"Ah congratulations. The both of you have done so much for the magical world that I feel a simple 'thank you' is not enough."

"We did what we had to. Nothing more."

"Even so, your deeds have been heard around the world. Was there anything else you were looking for in our little shopping village today?"

Hermione replied "Not really, we were just going to have a look around."

Harry shrunk the bag of books down and placed it in his pocket. As they left the shop, he said "I do not like this attention."

She grabbed his arm and answered "Me either Love. It may be leftover paranoia from before but it's creeping me out a little."

Harry looked around and saw the clerk pointing them out to several people and that was enough for Harry. He grabbed her hand and quickly led her to the exit. As soon as they were clear of the wards, he pulled her to him and quickly disappeared. Once they arrived on the boat, he let go of Hermione and with a wave of his wand, the anchor was being raised as he took to the pilot station and fired up the engines. The anchor was barely out of the water before the boat was surging forward. They had maybe gone one hundred feet before they heard two splashes where they had been. Harry immediately cut the engines and raised the sails with his wand. As the boat lurched forward, he had an inspiration from a movie he had seen back at the marina in England.

He barked out "Hermione, take the wheel."

As she did, he ran forward and was pulling yet another sail out of storage. After tying it off, he hoisted it up the mast as well and then used his wand to position it. When the wind caught it, Hermione yelled "Holy Shit Harry…"

He ran back to the pilot station and asked "What's wrong?"

"Nothing baby, it's just she flying."

He slid in behind her and wrapped his arms around her. As his arms encircled her, he could feel the small baby bump that was forming and he kissed her cheek. He looked down at the speedometer and smiled. The lady was now making twenty three knots and leaving Indonesia behind quickly as he reached up and held her hands and steered them out to the open sea.

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere they won't expect. I'm thinking we will go out for a bit and then swing back up and continue on to Darwin."

"Won't they be looking for us?"

He kissed her cheek "No my beautiful wife. What will they be looking for?"

She stood there for a minute before she realized what he meant. She kissed his cheek. "Disillusionment is still up?"

"Yep"

"What do you think they wanted?"

"I don't know and don't care. We left that life behind us and as far as I am concerned, we are just muggles with magic."

She kissed his cheek. "My thoughts exactly love."

**ESC**

They drove for deep water for a couple of hours before Harry once again shifted course and headed east for Australia once again. The incident in Bali had unnerved Harry and he wanted to get as much distance between them and Bali as possible. To help achieve this, he left the oversized jib up to give him the speed to gain that distance as quickly as he could. It wasn't concern for himself that drove him but that for his wife and unborn child.

Harry had never had a problem with his ego but he knew he was one of the most powerful wizards in the world. The addition of the elder wand just made him more so but thankfully no one but Hermione knew about its continued existence. Harry realized that being one of the most powerful wizards in the world would always draw the attention of others whether good or bad and was a big factor in his decision to leave that life behind. He had long tired of war and battle and had no intention of living that kind of life again.

As night began to fall, Hermione tried to coax him to find a place for them to tie up for the night but he was still operating in his protective mode and would not stop until he felt they were safe. It wasn't until he saw the coast of Sumba that he found a place to drop anchor. Hermione stirred at three o'clock in the morning as an exhausted Harry climbed into bed with her. After a few whispered words, she wrapped her arms around him as he fell asleep.

**ESC**

Hermione woke to the feeling of the boat in motion once again. A quick look at the clock showed her that Harry had let her sleep in. It had been a long night for her as Harry was very restless in his sleep and she was grateful for the extra sleep. Once out of bed, she took a shower and dressed as normal for them as she felt comfortable with. While the baby was still just a bump, she was already becoming self conscious about it and was at the point where she just didn't feel attractive in a thong anymore. She pulled a more conservative set of bottoms out and pulled on a tank top.

As she made her way up on deck, she caught Harry's eye and immediately went to her place behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He leaned back and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry about last night. I got a little carried away."

"It's okay baby. I understand."

He moved her around in front of him so that his arms were around her as he held the wheel. "No, I don't think you do. It scared me honey. The only time I think I was ever that scared was in the DOM when you were hit by that curse. I finally have everything I could have ever dreamed of and I'm terrified of losing it."

"Oh Harry. You're never going to lose us. Think about everything we've been through. We're both still here."

"I know but that was just us taking care of us. Now we have the little one to take care of."

"And her daddy will take care of her as good as he took care of me."

"Her?"

She grinned at him. "Merlin I hope so. I don't thing I could handle another you right now."

"Thanks"

"You know, we could be reading more into yesterday than we should be. Our paranoia kept us alive that year. Maybe it was just the attention that got to us after we did everything to avoid it while we were on the hunt. I mean every time we were noticed back then, something bad happened."

"You might be right. Hmm…who am I kidding, you're Hermione Granger, of course you're right."

"That's Potter mister."

He grinned at her. "See? You're right again."

She leaned in and gave him peck on the lips. "So where are we going?"

"Well, right now, we are heading for the Palau Islands and then on to Rote Ndao. The book says we can tie up there safely for the day or night and we can get some rest before the two tough legs we have ahead of us."

"I'm guessing we don't have a lot of distance to cover today since you aren't using the jib?"

"Yeah, my nerves are calmer. Thanks for that by the way. We also don't have that much distance to go either."

"So what happens tomorrow?"

"We'll head straight for the Ashmore and Cartier Islands where we'll rest for a day before we head to Australia."

"I take it that the last leg will be the worst?"

"Actually no. The last leg will be sailing up the coast to Darwin. My plan is to head straight for Australia and then turn east."

She giggled. "Not to rain on your parade my love, but I think it's time to do some research before we leave tomorrow."

"The book?"

"Of course. I'll look for tie ups along a straight route to Darwin. I want you in my arms at night."

He kissed her cheek "We'll talk about it later. For now, I want you to go enjoy your new books."

As she sat down, he asked "Baby, why did you hide the goodies?"

"I'm going to be a mother Harry. It's time I started dressing like it."

He muttered "Bet Jane wouldn't."

"I heard that. Don't bring my mother into this."

**ESC**

The rest of their journey went by uneventfully as they sailed during the day and played in the evenings. Harry took every opportunity to show Hermione how attractive he thought she was but as they approached Darwin, he sadly knew the time of the thong was over for a while.

Their approach into Port Darwin had also seen the return of modesty in her dress as she was once again wearing shorts as well as a blouse and God forbid a bra. She gave him a smile as their eyes caught as she was in the sitting area right in front of him. The sat phone was to her ear as she was arranging a spot at the marina they had decided on with the help of her parents and was calling out landmarks and directions that would guide them in.

As soon as she was finished with the marina office, the phone was dialed once again and quickly placed at her ear.

"Hey Daddy"

"No nothing's wrong, I just wanted to tell you that we should be at the marina within the hour."

She quickly pulled the phone away from her ear.

"Gracious Daddy, did you have to yell?"

"No, I can't wait to see you too."

"We'll see you then. I love you."

As soon as she hung up the phone, she got up and moved into her spot with her arms wrapped around Harry. As she squeezed him, he could feel the baby bump pressing into his back.

"Little James is getting bigger."

Yes, Lily Jane sure is."

Harry smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "Sounds like your Dad was excited?"

She got a gleam in her eye. "Yeah, he was. He said they would meet us at the marina."

**ESC**

With boat firmly tied up, Harry was on deck securing everything and buttoning up the sails as Hermione was down below putting the finishing touches on their packing. Hermione had the easy part as her wand was out and things were sorting themselves in the right place very quickly. It would have been the same for Harry if not for the many non-magical eyes surrounding them.

Just as he was pulling the cover over the sail, he noticed the Grangers walking down the dock towards them. "Hey Mi! I think you have company."

He heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs up to the deck and watched as a blur of brown hair shot across the deck and down the stairs to the dock. He had to chuckle as both parents were almost tackled as they were hit by the blur and pulled into a Hermi hug. Knowing that he had to get finished so that they could go, Harry turned back to his work.

He could hear their conversation as he continued about his work and chuckled at the way both sides were firing off questions at a rapid pace. It was with some relief that Harry was glad he wasn't down there as he could barely keep up with Hermione when she got up a full head of steam. Merlin forbid three of them.

Once things calmed down and the conversation took on a more normal pace, she led her parents onto the boat and showed them around. Hermione went and grabbed Harry and pulled him over to her parents. "Mum, Dad, I know it's been a long time but this is my Harry."

Both parents sized him up for a minute before Richard said "That's a relief, he really doesn't have red hair."

Harry didn't know how to take that and moved off as quickly as he could without being impolite. With the work topside being complete, Harry darted below to finish up whatever Hermione had not had time to. He barely managed to finish before they came down on their tour. Still unnerved by the red haired comment, Harry grabbed some fruit juice and made his way to the seating area up on deck where he placed the drinks for them. When they arrived and sat down, Jane asked "Are you avoiding us Harry?"

Harry smiled "No ma'am, I was just letting you have time as a family. It was because of me that you were separated and to be honest, I've always felt guilty about that."

Hermione squeezed him tight as all three Grangers caught each others' eyes. Richard said "You are part of our family Harry and have been for a long time. We knew what our baby was getting into and fully supported her decision."

"Thank you. I never would have made it without her."

Richard chuckled "I can see why you are so well matched. She says the same thing about you. I do have one question for you."

Harry tensed up. "Yes Sir?"

"Why did you let my princess cut her hair?"

Harry smiled "Who am I to deny her anything after all she has done for me? That one was easy. I'm just glad you didn't ask me about why she was pregnant already."

Hermione groaned as she heard two 'Whats' at the same time.

Harry looked at her wide eyed and asked "You haven't told them?"

"Not yet"

"Oops"

The next thing heard was a squeal from Jane as she moved to her daughter as one arm went around her and one went to her belly. Harry laughed as Jane started firing off rapid fire questions once again.

During the torrent of questions, Richard's voice was heard saying "But?"

Harry had to laugh as Hermione said "Honestly Daddy. We _are_ married. Besides that, don't you remember that talk you and Harry had as well as what usually comes from doing that?"

"But?"

Harry smirked. "If it's any consolation Sir, at least the baby won't be red headed."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter.

AN: Sadly this story needs to come to an end as I probably should have written the epilogue after chapter two. The story continues in the same way until the epilogue where I decided to have some fun. I wrote it almost as an omake and hope no one will get upset with it. In reality, the epilogue was written for those of you who felt that Luna got the bad end of the deal.

Chapter 4

After the 'red headed' comment, Harry excused himself and moved off to finish their packing. While he was down below, he was kicking himself for his reaction but just couldn't help it. As he went about his busy work, he opened the secret compartment and withdrew the elder wand and slid it into the wrist holder beside his holly wand. He knew that if someone magical were to get on the boat, they could eventually get past the enchantments on the secret compartment and it would be gone forever.

Up on deck, Richard looked stunned at Harry's sudden departure and asked Hermione, "Was it something I said?"

She sighed out. "He's still pretty sensitive about the Weasleys as a whole."

Jane asked "Why?"

"There are several reasons. Ron abandoned us at one point during our mission and I don't think Harry will ever forgive him for it."

"Why?"

"It wasn't the first time he had ever done it to Harry as well as he tried to force me to choose between them. While I stayed, I wasn't in the best of places and I cried for about two weeks until Harry basically made me start living again so that we could get on with our mission. The fact that he hurt me once again was just unforgivable to Harry."

Jane said "But yet you went back to him anyway?"

"Yes and I would probably still be with him if it wasn't for the intervention of several witches. I know, I was stupid and it took Harry leaving to begin his life elsewhere without me to realize what I had lost."

Jane said "I knew from your call that something major had happened. I'm just glad they undid the enchantment so that I knew who you were again."

"When I finally caught up to him, he was as cold to me as I've seen him be to some of the people we fought. It was terrifying to think I had hurt him that much."

Richard said "It sounds like there's more to this story."

Hermione looked up with tears in her eyes. She started telling about everything that happened after the final battle and the eventual abandonment of Harry. She talked about Luna Lovegood showing up one day in tears and berating them for what they had done to Harry who was now all alone in the world thanks to his wonderful friends and so-called family.

Richard said "So every time we have teased him about Ron, we have offended him. Oh great, not the way we wanted to start our relationship with the man who has held our daughter's heart for so many years."

They all turned as they heard a quiet voice say "Offended is too strong of a word in this case. Maybe we should say it played on my insecurities and my jealousy. I kept telling myself that I would tell her how I felt when the war was over but when the time came, I realized I was too late and she was with _him_. I just couldn't take seeing that and decided to run."

Richard looked Harry in the eye. "I think I need to apologize for the bad taste of my jokes. From all the letters we have read over the years, we thought we knew you but see that isn't necessarily the case."

Harry replied "No apologies are necessary Sir."

Jane added "Oh please, none of this Sir or Ma'am stuff. You make me feel old even though the two of you are making me a grandmother. Please call us Richard or Jane or Mum and Dad."

Richard nodded. "Well, you may say no apologies are necessary but I will at least explain myself. When we heard that my little princess was dating _him_, it scared us that her life wouldn't be all that we had hoped for her. I lost a lot of sleep worrying about her becoming another Molly and just dropping out babies they couldn't afford because he was too lazy to properly take care of my daughter or his family."

"Daddy!"

Harry laughed "And we show up with Hermione already pregnant and your worst fears are realized."

Richard just nodded.

Hermione butted in. "We have plenty of time to discuss all this later. Right now, I want to talk about that dinner I was promised once we made landfall."

Jane looked at her watch and said "Oh my, if we hurry, we can just make our reservations."

A quick flick of the wand and their suitcase was shrunk and flying into Harry's hand. As they left the boat, another concealed flick of the wand and the protective charms and wards they had placed on the boat went active. Richard and Jane led them up the dock and to their waiting Range Rover.

**ESC**

The four of them had an enjoyable dinner together which left Harry wondering if it was the food or company that made it so. All throughout the evening, Richard would throw questions at Harry until Hermione finally called for a stop to it.

"Daddy, leave Harry alone. I have seen our finances and am very comfortable with what we have to work with. We already said we would discuss it with the both of you later."

"Easy Mi, I will be the same way when I am in his position. He's just making sure one of the most important people in his life will be okay."

"Sorry Daddy."

"No, you're right. I'm sorry as well."

Harry smiled "Did you guys take a few days off?"

Jane nodded.

"Then I have an idea. Why don't you two ladies have a mother/daughter spa day tomorrow? You can drop Richard and me by the boat where we can talk everything out as I try to put his mind at ease."

Richard asked "Why the boat?"

Hermione perked up. "Why not take him out for a bit? It would be relaxing for both of you."

Harry leaned over and kissed her cheek. "My thoughts exactly."

Jane added "If that is the case, I think Hermione and I ought to be there as well so that you two don't kill each other when your mouths engage before your brain. Besides, why should he get to go out on that beautiful boat while I'm stuck having hairs plucked from God know where."

Richard said "That works for me. Besides, it usually takes at least a day to get an appointment."

After dinner, the four of them went back to the small flat that Richard and Jane shared. They sat up rather late just talking about everything that had gone on in their lives while they were apart and just getting to know each other again or for the first time. By the time they went to bed, the Grangers realized just how good of a choice their daughter had made in her husband. Little did they know that the revelations they would be subjected to the next day would totally destroy any concerns they may have had.

**ESC**

The four of them made their way to the marina and once the charms were taken down, Richard and Jane were led below to the booth/table that was their dinner table. Harry quickly moved to his secret compartment and withdrew the expandable file folder they kept there.

Jane's eyebrow rose when she saw it. "I detect my daughter's hand in that."

Harry laughed "Yep, where would I be without my wonderful wife who can do the impossible and even organize my life. So…I guess it's time to answer the questions you have been biting back since yesterday."

Hermione piped up. "Before we begin, remember we are a family and we will act like it. (She glared at Harry and Richard.) No getting mad and walking off."

Both grinned and said "Yes Ma'am."

Harry made a motion for Richard to start.

"Not that we don't approve of you Harry because we do. Hermione couldn't have found a better man as her husband."

Harry nodded.

"I sit here in this magnificent boat and I see the satellite phone sitting there. Both are expensive things to maintain and I worry that you are living too extravagantly. It took years before Jane and I were comfortable enough to have nice things and even then, we had to be careful so as not to eat into our budget and live outside our resources. My concern is that you are wasting the money you do have and not planning for the future."

Harry nodded and then made the gesture for him to keep going. The thing that bothered Richard the most was that Harry kept a smile on his face the whole time.

"The next question I have is: What are your plans for the future? Are you going to drag my only daughter into a vagabond life on the high seas? What are you going to do about a job so that you can take care of my little girl and her baby?"

Harry took a deep breath and with a straight face replied "To be quite honest Sir, I have no definite plans for the future at this time except to be at Mi's side as we raise our children. As far as a life at sea, I would be fine with it but I'm sure Mi will have an opinion about it that I must consider. As far as a job is concerned, I'll be more than happy to stay at home with the kids while Hermione pursues anything she chooses too."

Richard and Jane's mouths fell open as Harry and Hermione sat there without batting an eye. It was finally Jane who responded by yelling "Hermione, are you okay with that? Do you want to be the one supporting your family as your husband spends his time sailing?"

Hermione responded with a straight face. "Of course Mum. You know how much I love Harry and I would do anything for him. I'll hold three jobs if that is what it takes to make my Harry happy."

Richard and Jane sat there stunned for a few minutes before the Potters started laughing. Harry finally quit laughing long enough to say "I'm sorry but you guys made it too easy. Truthfully, I already have a job managing my investment portfolio and other holdings along with taking care of my wife. I was telling you the truth about Hermione being able to pursue whatever her heart desires but I can promise you it won't be to put a roof over our heads or food on the table. I can also promise you that our children will never go without."

Hermione opened the expandable file and laid out several account statements. As the Grangers eyes drifted down, they widened at the numbers shown. Hermione said "Harry promised me that I could pursue whatever I wanted and while he didn't really want me to work; he said he would support me in whatever I did. Right now, I'm leaning towards working with him on the investments until an academic challenge comes up."

Harry chuckled "Ever since I met your daughter, she has always been the voice of reason to try and calm down my exploits. She took interest in what I was doing and soon had a new research project that she threw herself into. By the time she thought she was ready to help me, I set her up a small investment account to practice on and soon learned that she had a reckless side as well. I kept my mouth shut for the most part and just let her do what she wanted but soon combined it with the rest of our investments as her rate of return was much higher than mine. We all know that there are some investments that are extremely risky but can also have the greatest results. Never let it be said that Hermione Granger-Potter is not as brave as her crazy husband."

Jane said "So, you are partners."

Harry replied "In every sense of the word."

Jane looked to Richard. "Well, I'm satisfied. How about you Richard?"

He could only nod for a minute as his eyes never left the papers in front of him. "All objections removed and after what you two just did to us, I think we will get along famously."

Harry got up and said 'excuse me for a minute' as he picked up the sat phone and went up on deck. When he returned, he sat down for round two.

He looked at Jane and said "I can see you've got questions as well. Ask them. I promise to answer them truthfully."

Jane looked at him with a tear in her eye. "Harry, I've just gotten my baby back and don't want to lose her again. Where will you live? Or should I ask which world are you going to live in?"

He reached out and took her hand as he could understand this question better than anyone. "The only connection I have to that world is sitting right beside me. When I thought I had waited too long and lost her, I was planning to leave that world far behind as she was the only reason I had stayed as long as I did. So to answer your question, the only world I want to live in is the one where Hermione is."

Hermione grinned and said "Really?"

Looking deep into her eyes, he said "Baby, magic may be a part of who we are but it doesn't mean we have to be a part of that world. After everything they've put us through, I thought you'd be thrilled to leave it all behind."

She put her arms around him and squeezed him tight. "You're right. I think I finally realized after Bali that we would never have any real peace and happiness as long as we stayed in that world. Who knows, when they realize that the Most Ancient Houses of Potter and Black want nothing to do with them, maybe they'll change."

Harry looked at her for a minute before bursting out in laughter. At her hurt expression, he placed his hand on her cheek and then leaned in and tenderly kissed her. "That's just one of the things I love about you Mi. You always look for the good and hope for the future."

"But everything we fought for?"

"I was fighting for our survival sweetheart. I didn't fight for them; I fought for you so that you could live a happy life. The fact that I get to share that life with you is far beyond my hopes and dreams."

Their eyes met and were quickly followed by their lips. It went on for several minutes before Jane finally cleared her throat. "It seems there has been a lot left out over the years. Perhaps now that it is over, you can tell us what all really happened."

Harry and Hermione were still staring at each other when Richard said "You still haven't answered the question of where you will live."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the side of the boat and a voice calling out "Mr. Potter".

Harry got up and they heard him speaking with someone for a minute before they heard Harry say 'thank you' with him returning to the table carrying another folder.

As soon as he was settled, Harry said "Jane, as much as I'd like to share that with you, there are some things that should be left in the past. It's not that we want to keep anything from you but quite frankly, there's a lot I'd like to forget so that we can get on with our lives. Dredging up all that will just destroy how far we've come since we left England."

Jane nodded. "I think I can live with that. It's over and done with and there's nothing we can do to change it now. You mentioned dreams earlier. What are your dreams other than keeping my daughter pregnant for the next ten years?"

Harry smiled "Now that IS a good idea! My most important dream is living my life with Hermione. I have some other ideas but that will depend on all of you."

Richard said "How so?"

This time Hermione spoke up. "How committed are you to remaining dentists?"

Jane said "At first it was a calling but over the years but it has become just a job."

Hermione asked "What would you say if we asked you to sell your practice here? Your accounts could be linked with ours and you could live off the investments."

Richard asked "Are you really that good?"

Harry looked him straight in the eye and said "Yes she is but I warn you, her methods aren't for the faint of heart."

**ESC**

Harry and Hermione spent the next little while slowly convincing Richard and Jane to join them in the vision they shared for the future. The conversation was interrupted by the sound of a knock and a female voice calling out 'Mr. Potter?'

Harry got up and went to speak with whoever was calling for him. They heard Harry say 'thank you' but he never returned to the cabin. Instead, they heard his footsteps scurrying around on deck and then heard the engine start up. Knowing her husband was up to something; Hermione led her parents to the sitting area as she took her place behind him and helped keep watch for other vessels.

"May I ask where you are taking us?"

With a smirk, Harry replied "Well we did say we'd take them out for a sail."

She looked at him before saying, "Alright Harry, out with it, I know you too well and I know you are up to something."

"Who me?"

It wasn't long before the engines were cut and Harry was raising the sails. As soon as they cleared the harbor, Harry turned them east and they found themselves sailing up the coast. The weather was incredible and soon Hermione was leading her mother down below to change into something more appropriate for sailing. Already in shorts, Richard pulled off his shirt and sat back enjoying to trip.

When Hermione and Jane came back up in bikinis, Harry was stunned at just how much the two were similar. The thought went through his mind of how lucky he was that his wife would be just as lovely as she aged. He had an even bigger grin when he realized that her magic would keep her that way for quite a long time. Richard chuckled as he saw Harry checking them both out.

He quietly said "We're both very lucky men Harry."

"You got that right."

Hermione heard them saying something and caught Harry checking them out. "Like something you see Mr. Potter?"

"You have to ask?"

Her response was to blow him a kiss before she turned and got the both of them settled on towels to bask in the sun.

Richard slid closer to the pilot station and asked "Where are you taking us? You seem to have a destination in mind."

"House hunting. There's a house that almost meets the criteria I gave the bank and I wanted to check it out from the water."

"What were your options?"

"Well, I wanted it on the water. Preferably in a sheltered bay where I could tie up the Lady. It also had to be big enough to not only house us and our children but you and Jane as well as Andi and Teddy."

"You really want your in-laws living with you?"

By this time, Hermione and Jane heard them talking and came back to join them. Hermione slipped in front of Harry so that his arms were around her as he steered. "I don't really see how I have the right to refuse you anything. Your family sacrificed so much for me that I feel I am in your debt with all you had to give up."

Jane looked at Hermione for a second. "We didn't give up anything Harry. Not really. We still own everything in England and if we sold it along with the practice here, we would be pretty well off. If anything, it is us who owe you. You are here offering something we would kill for. We realized when Hermione left for Hogwarts how empty our lives were without her. Our only breaks were whenever she returned and we could do things together. Without her, our lives became empty and all we did was play the game of keeping up with the neighbors or the others at the club."

Richard grasped her hand. "Coming here was the best thing that could have happened to us. We've always loved each other but without all the static back home, we fell in love with each other all over again and couldn't be happier. Then you come along and offer us the chance to be a part of our daughter's and her new husband's lives. You talked about dreams earlier Harry and you have just handed us ours."

**EPILOGUE**

Harry found the perfect house for them a little up the coast from Darwin. At first, Richard and Jane were a little apprehensive about the distance from civilization but Hermione put those concerns to rest with the availability of magical travel. In order to maintain their privacy, the estate was registered to a James and Jane Evanston. To further ensure their privacy, the Gnomes were contracted to ward the property to the point where even the Australian Ministry would not know of their existence.

The house was rather large and hidden from observation except from the sea and the air on one hundred acres of forested coastline. The house itself was unique in that it had two master suites. Richard and Jane opted for the guest house that was located right behind the pool so that Andi and Teddy would be in the house with Harry and Hermione. It really didn't matter to them as the only time they used it was at night as they spent most of their time with their family. Harry continued in his quest to spoil Hermione by creating a huge library in which he would often find Mi, Jane, and Andi enjoying the peace and quiet as they perused subjects that interested them.

Over the course of time, the property became a labor of love for the whole family. Having access to some pretty powerful wizards and witches of which Andi was an enchantress, Jane started producing island travel books and with the help of the others, created her own private beach paradise. There was no surprise that it was clothing optional but it was surprising that Andi was none to shy about joining in and in Harry's opinion, she was just as breathtaking as her daughter. The ladies always found it funny at the ridiculous excuses the men would use just to come by whenever they were on the beach.

In turn, each of the adults created their own little version of paradise on the grounds. For Richard, it was a putting green and driving range and for Andi, it was a park with a paved path that strolled through the peaceful gardens. The closest Harry and Hermione came to creating something like the others was a gazebo which overlooked the ocean. They called it the 'heart' of the family because it was where Harry and Hermione took everyone to talk about personal matters. If they sought out paradise, they found it on board the Lady and needed to look no further but there was talk of one day creating a Quidditch pitch for Harry to teach the kids how to fly.

Harry and Hermione made Jane's prediction a reality up to a point as they had five children in their first six years together but decided to stop there as the pregnancies were getting much harder on Hermione. To Hermione's amazement, Harry told her that if she wanted more children then she would just have to adopt as he couldn't live without her.

They never did actively try to adopt as they felt five children were more than enough. In Harry and Hermione's eyes, Teddy was their son in all but blood which fulfilled Harry's promise to Remus. From Teddy's point of view, he was thrilled to have five younger brothers and sisters to play with. As they grew older, he became the consummate older brother that was always there for his siblings.

Andi and Jane grew very close in those first few years. It took a lot of time and patience on Jane's part but Andi's grief and despair started fading after many tears and a lot of time. Jane finally convinced her that she still had a lot to offer a man and made it a point to introduce her to many of hers and Richard's single male friends. She finally made a connection with one named Jim but was terrified when he asked her to come home with him for the night after dating for several months. Her fear won out that night and she fled home but not before apologizing to the man and telling him it wasn't a no but more like a not yet.

Andi spent the whole night tossing and turning as her fear and guilt ate at her heart. As Andi's confidant and Jim's friend, Jane waited at breakfast for Andi the next morning so that they could talk about it. She was surprised that instead of her, Andi grabbed Harry's hand and asked if she could speak to him. When it concerned a member of the family, Harry usually operated from one of two offices. He asked "Your choice, Heart or the Lady."

She smiled "Heart I think. I need your full attention and you tend to fondle the Lady when you are on board."

Harry laughed "I can assure you that I fondle a certain lady when I'm on board but I only lovingly caress my other lady."

He held out his hand and led her out to the gazebo where she became a mess and let her heart and troubles burst from her. As she sat there sobbing, Harry was quick to put his arms around her and let her weather the storm of her emotions. The three adults in the house watched from a window as Andi bared her soul to Harry and like the wonderful man he was, held her and told her what she needed to hear.

"Andi, we may not be blood, well, bad example because we are but anyway…I love you and only want the best for you. I've watched as you have mourned these last few years and have always wished there was something I could do to make it go away. I remember that night when Hagrid and I showed up at your house all banged up and bloody. I saw how much he loved you when he looked at you."

She cried even harder. "You're not helping."

"Yes I am! You see, you and Ted shared a love that can never be matched much like Richard and Jane and Me and Mi."

She sobbed out. "You're still not helping."

Harry chuckled "Well you're the one who wanted me. What I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't forget it. You should cherish it for the great love that it was. Listen, I'm crap at some of this stuff but what I saw that night was that Ted would want you to be happy. If Jim could make you happy even for a short time, then you should grasp it. Ted will not feel betrayed and will still be waiting on you on the other side with a big smile on his face."

Andi quieted down. "You really think it is that easy?"

"No I don't. The only thing I can compare it to is when I thought I lost Mi and I can still remember what that felt like but you have got to start living again. Geez Andi, I love you too much for you to give up on life and just fade away. To be crude or in true Sirius fashion, you are way to damn hot to be wasting it like you are."

"You want me to start sleeping around?"

"I never said that. What I said is that I want you to be happy."

"I don't know how any more."

Harry smirked "Then let me make a suggestion."

She looked up at him with tear streaked eyes and nodded.

"If you don't know where to start, then climb unto bed with Richard and Jane one night. I'm sure neither of them would kick you out."

She looked at him stunned.

Harry shrugged. "You asked…I'm just saying."

Harry stood and held out his hand to Andi. As she took it, he pulled her up into an embrace and then turned and walked back to the house with his arm around her. When they entered the house, all three pairs of adult eyes were on them. Hermione looked at him with a look on her face that he knew meant …Well?

Harry just shrugged and said "Andi said she didn't know how to be happy anymore."

"And just what did you tell her my husband?"

He looked at Andi who just blushed. With a smirk as he looked at Richard and Jane, he said "I told her to start slow."

Jane asked "Which was?"

"Oh, I told her that I've seen the way both of you look at her and that neither of you would kick her out of the bed if she decided to climb in one night."

There was total silence for a while. Hermione knew it to be the truth but didn't dare say anything. Jane finally reached out and took Andi's hand. "You would be welcome you know."

Andi just nodded.

It took a week before Andi's curiosity got the better of her and she slipped into the guest house late one night. Richard was the first to realize she was in to their room. With the moon shining through the window, he got out of bed and eased her beside Jane and then climbed in beside her. Once settled, both Jane and Richard kissed her cheek and then cuddled up next to her. Sensing her nervousness, Jane whispered "Nothing is going to happen until you want it to. Just relax knowing how much we love you."

In Harry and Hermione's room, Harry was standing at the window and just saw Andi sneak in. Hermione asked "Did she?"

"Yeah finally. I hope it helps."

"Do you think they will?"

"Not anytime soon. Your Mum knows how fragile Andi is and Dad is too scared to do anything until Mum says it's okay. He may stand up and salute her but other than that, it will be up to Andi."

**ESC**

As the time passed by, Harry and Richard's relationship had morphed into that of a father and a son. Both had taken on the challenge of trying to convert the other to their passion. While Richard's passion was golf, Harry's was obviously the sea. As their fortune grew, Hermione allowed Harry to indulge in his passion and soon he had started collecting boats. None held the significance of the Lady to them but he enjoyed his hobby.

The time Andi spent with Jane and Richard was everything she needed as the couple was very loving and attentive to her. Over time, she gained the confidence to once again date and by coincidence, Jim was still waiting for her. They married several years later and he was brought in on the secret of the magical world. When he was told, he started laughing as he already knew of the world since he was magical as well.

The other secret he learned that night would leave him swearing a magical oath to never reveal Harry and Hermione's true identities. Since Jim was still connected to the magical world, he was able to tell them quite a tale of how Harry and Hermione Potter had sailed from England and then disappeared. The members of the ICW had passed a resolution that all members were to keep an eye open for the couple and help them in any way they could. The other part of the resolution was that the couple was to be protected at all cost and allowed to live in peace for what they had done for the magical world.

As she held her new husband's hand, Andi asked "Why?"

"There was a story of them showing up in Bali a few months after they left England. As they were shopping, the exuberance of a sales clerk caused a bad reaction for the couple and it activated their fight or flight instincts left over from the war. They were never seen again and it was this action that caused the ICW to act. The only country to not agree to it was Great Britain as they felt you were national treasures and assets that should be returned to their Ministry so that you could fulfill your civic duty to them."

Harry snorted as Hermione rolled her eyes. "And they wonder why we left."

Harry chuckled out. "I told you then that it was an escape."

Hermione smiled "Yes you did dear and as much as it pains me to say this….you were right."

Harry looked at her with wide eyes before he made a choking sound and grabbed his chest. The next part of the act was to fall off the couch and pretend to start convulsing to the chuckles of everyone else.

Hermione's only reaction was to raise an eyebrow at him and say "If you want to sleep in my bed tonight, you'll get your ass back on this couch right now."

Harry literally apparated back to his seat as the others started laughing even harder.

Jim was laughing the hardest and when he finally calmed down everyone was looking at him strange. He finally stuttered out "All the stories about the super warrior Harry Potter and here he is cowed by his wife."

Andi raised an eyebrow at him this time and he gulped. "And shouldn't men respect and listen to their wives?"

"Yes dear, it will never happen again dear."

Andi growled out "Damn right it won't."

Harry laughed and said "Don't worry about it Jim. You're in good company."

Richard was smart enough not to open his mouth and just nod his head.

**ESC**

Fifteen years after Harry and Hermione had first sailed from England, Harry bought his largest and most expensive boat to date. He stayed true to his love of sailing and purchased a one hundred foot catamaran which had enough space for all of the family and then some. He proudly named it The Marauder.

On their wedding anniversary, they took the whole family on a cruise around the South Pacific. Harry had long ago mapped out the entire region and only took them to the spots Hermione had marked with gold stars. He hated to admit it but her organizational skills have always been just as much of a turn on for him as French was to Gomez Addams.

The vacation was made even more perfect when Luna and Gabrielle accepted the invitations for them and their families. Out of everyone in the magical world, they were the only ones Harry and Hermione corresponded with. They kept up with each other through letters and shared their victories and heartbreaks in the only way they could.

They understood the secrecy invoked by the invitation and accepted the portkey that arrived later without question. They arrived in front of the steps of the Evanston's Estate's entrance. Before they could get their bearings, the doors flew open and Hermione was down the stairs and pulling her friends into a hug. Harry stood behind them smiling as he let his wife get the hugs out of her system and as soon as she was done, his arms were open to receive hugs as well.

Once the greetings were over with, Luna and Gabrielle turned to their families and invoked family secrets magic right before they introduced their families to Harry and Hermione Potter. It was a wide eyed group that started back at them.

Harry shook Gabrielle's husband, Philippe's hand and welcomed him before turning to Luna. "Where's Yogi?"

She looked up at him and grinned. "You know that isn't his name and he left us six months ago. I should have never told you about the thick back hair. He said the spark was gone and I was too….predictable."

Harry hugged her. "That ass!"

"My thoughts exactly Harry. Anyway, the humphalumps told me to let him go and that there would be a better offer soon. We got your invitation and here we are. I'd like you to meet my daughters, Crescent and Neoma."

"It's a pleasure to meet you girls."

The young teenagers looked back at him with wide eyes. Luna said "Girls, you're being very rude. Say hello to your new daddy."

They both chorused in Luna's dreamy voice. "Hello new daddy."

Harry choked out "Daddy?"

Behind him, Hermione snorted. When he looked at her, she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

Harry turned back to Luna and asked "Would you like to explain that?"

"Of course Harry my love. I told you before you left that I loved you. After you left, I made a vow that if ever you called for me, I would go to you and we would get married. From my point of view, that invitation was you calling for me so now if you don't mind, I think Philippe is an official in the French government and could perform the ceremony and I would like to get on with my wedding night."

Harry looked back at Hermione who was smiling at him. He asked "I'm already married to Hermione. How can I marry someone else?"

Gabrielle said "Oh that's easy Harry. You are not only the Head of House Potter but also the Head of House Black. That was declared after you ran away. Under magical law, you are allowed a wife for each house and must produce an heir for both."

"I didn't run away, I escaped and I know that other part but I already named Teddy the heir for House Black."

Luna said "You can call it whatever you want. I'm fine with Teddy being the Black heir. It gives me an excuse to not have to go through another pregnancy that stretches my body all out of shape and made my boobs almost explode. The best part is I'll get to have sex every night with two of the people I love most in the world."

Harry turned once again to Hermione who was barely controlling her laughter. He growled at her "Is this a joke?"

With her head down, she shook her head quickly to keep from laughing.

With another growl, he asked "And you're okay with this?"

Surprisingly, she looked him straight in the eye and nodded. She finally said "I found a better way to adopt and quite frankly, I've missed the little nut job."

Luna smiled and ran over and kissed Hermione on the lips. "Oh Hermione, I love you too even though you stole my man for fifteen years."

Luna then turned and asked "Harry?"

"Well, I haven't gone wrong by doing what she said so far so…I believe we have a wedding to plan."

Harry and Luna were married before the Marauder set sail. The amazing thing was that all this was accomplished by lunch time. As the boat sailed across the open water, Harry and the rest of the guys were gifted with the sight of five beautiful adult women in thongs as well as seven gorgeous teen aged girls in bikinis all lying on the huge sun deck of the boat. It wasn't a pervy thing at all as these men recognized all the women on that deck as family but beauty was meant to be looked upon with appreciation.

Harry and Hermione's daughters, Lily Jane, Chloe, and Coral were all the spitting image of their mother and grandmother but thanks to Harry's genes, they never suffered from the large front teeth. Unfortunately, they inherited their parents' unruly hair and combated it with short hair styles.

Harry's new daughters were also the spitting image of their mother with long blond hair and just a hint of the curves that Luna was displaying in the thong that Harry recognized as one of Hermione's. At the moment, Harry was a little scared of trying to keep up with the two beauties tonight and even thought about asking Richard how he managed. Seeing them on the deck as they were giggling as they shot glances back at Harry was causing him all kinds of problems. Luckily, none of the other men were paying attention to him.

Gabrielle's daughters were just like the image that was permanently burned in his mind for their time together in the Mediterranean and were as beautiful as their mother.

Jane and Andi just looked incredible for their age and would turn heads for many years to come. Gabrielle was just Gabrielle and there was not much else he could say for the beautiful Veela who he thought of as a little sister.

Harry had to laugh as all the men and boys were over the side as soon as he dropped anchor. He would have done the same but Luna and Hermione caught him in between them and were mercilessly teasing him. All in all, Harry had to think that he was pretty lucky. His life with Hermione was just perfect and he didn't need anything else to make his life complete. If anything, Luna would bring back some of the excitement they shared when they were younger.

Harry trusted Hermione completely and during a few minutes alone before the wedding, she explained that Luna's ex had taken everything she had and left her alone and broke. The craziest part was that he gambled the Lovegood fortune away on snorkack races. She and her daughters had only survived by Luna's ability to live off the land after all her magical friends in England turned their backs on her including the Weasleys and Neville.

The only way she knew was in a letter where Luna confessed everything and was looking for a way to take proper care of her daughters. In the letter, Luna begged for Hermione to take in her daughters and give them a good home. It took Hermione all of three minutes to come up with the plan. Out of all their friends in the magical world, Luna was the only one who stood with them through it all and she knew how much Luna loved Harry. Hermione had evidently been influenced by Harry over the years and her saving people thing kicked in. She would not only take in Luna's daughters and give them a good home but she would also bring Luna into the family and give her the happiness she deserved. At one time, the thought of another woman in their bed would have made her go spare but she was confident in their relationship and the thought of Luna being there actually intrigued her.

Hermione found out just how intriguing Luna could be when she found a sign on the master's suite saying "If the boat's a rockin, don't come knockin."

The vacation had been an outstanding success as the seven girls grew very close and Harry's new daughters began to open up and lose some of their shyness. Gabrielle's daughters were also accepted for who they were and not looked upon differently due to their heritage. The thing that amazed them the most was that none of the men or boys were affected by their allure. The boys were strong willed like their father and the men's hearts were filled with love for their partners. For the first time ever, the girls enjoyed life and interacted with males that did not consist of their father and grandfather.

On the last night of the vacation, the whole group was sitting on deck enjoying the night as everyone bantered around and generally just had fun. The talk between the adults was filled with flirting and innuendo and a lot of laughter. While the new girls were getting used to it, the other six had grown up with it all their lives.

It had come up one afternoon as all the kids were sitting on a beach. Crescent asked "What's with the way the adults in your family talk to each other?"

Coral said "You get used to it after a while. To us, it's kind of comforting because it shows how close they are to each other."

Teddy said "Dad said my real Mum was a master of it just like his godfather was. He told us stories of how they used to embarrass him."

"But he's Harry Potter."

"No, he's just Dad. He will be your dad too if you let him."

Neoma said "I'd like that. Our real dad wasn't much so it would be nice to have someone like that in our lives. Mum's great but she has been so sad for so long."

Crescent nodded "It's nice to see her smiling again. Your dad and mum are very good to her."

Lily Jane sat in between them and put her arms around both of them. "Our family has never been normal but then what family really is. By the way, your Mum is now our Mum too just like ours is yours."

Both girls hugged Lily Jane tightly. Like gabby's girls, they had never been accepted by others and this was a new and wonderful feeling for them.

Gabrielle and Philippe had been having some very serious conversations and it was evident from the way she kissed him that they had finally agreed on something. Philippe asked "Harry is there any property available near your home?"

"Not really, we started out with one hundred acres and have expanded a little bit at a time over the years to where we have about two thousands acres now. Of course it's owned under the name of Evanston and Wilkins mainly but Jim's name is on a chunk as well. Why?"

"To be quite honest, we have very few friends back home and have felt more comfortable these last few weeks than we have in years. If that wasn't enough, my daughters look happier than I've ever seen them. The only people we really have to hold us there are Gabby's parents since mine have already passed on. We were thinking about approaching Jean when we get back and asking for me to be placed here as the Magical Ambassador."

Harry looked over at Hermione who looked about ready to burst. "We'd love to have you but I don't think there is any property for sale for miles."

Gabrielle deflated but Harry started again. "However, I think my sister would be allowed one hundred acres to build a house for her family."

Gabrielle was up and tackled Harry to the deck and was kissing him all over his face as she said 'thank you' over and over again. Harry laughed at her exuberance before he said "But there are conditions."

She straightened up. "There always are with you. Just tell me."

"Your parents can know the secret but we would prefer an oath. You know we trust them and would love to see them again."

Jim said "If Jean's the Minister then he already sworn an oath and you won't have anything to worry about."

Hermione snorted "You just want to see Appoline in a thong."

Harry smiled "You're making me out to be some kind of perv again after you were the one to start everything."

"You are right Harry. I'm sorry."

Harry laughed "Thank you for that but Appoline in a thong would be a sight to behold."

Hermione stuck her tongue out him and made all the kids laugh.

Andi added "At the beach would be pretty nice too."

Harry grinned "Yeah there is that too."

Gabrielle asked "What beach?"

Teddy said "That would be Nana Jane's naked beach."

Philippe said "Oh, I don't think we will be asking anymore. We will go in there and demand it."

Richard leaned over to Harry and said "He's going to fit in just fine."

Harry only nodded before Gabrielle turned on her husband. "Am I not enough for you that you have to fantasize about my Mum?"

Hermione snorted "Why not? Harry does about mine."

Harry blushed. "It's just that I see how much more beautiful my wife will be in a couple of years."

Luna said "That was smooth. He never was that smooth before."

Hermione smirked "I've trained him well."

"Is he house broken too?"

"Mostly but he is a man."

Harry shook his head as everyone laughed. Gabrielle finally said "There's more isn't there?"

Harry looked down and nodded his head. "Yeah, you can't tell Fleur."

"I wasn't planning to."

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be. We aren't close anymore."

Harry got back up and sat in between Hermione and Luna. Luna tried to lighten the mood by saying "So, come here often sailor?"

"A few times but I never ran across any mermaids like you before."

Hermione groaned. "Don't fall for it Luna. He used the same line on me and I couldn't walk the next day."

Luna smiled "Oh that sounds like fun. Did he do anything special for you after that?"

Hermione perked up. "Yes he did. He booked me into a spa. We'll have to book a girls day at the spa when we get back and the boys can do whatever it is boys do."

"What do you do at a spa?"

"All kinds of things. I think it's time for Mama Mi to take her new girls to a spa. They always make me feel like a princess by the time they're done."

Harry kissed her cheek. "You are a princess my love. I don't think I'll ever understand why you decided to take up with a pirate like me."

Hermione giggled. "Oh that's easy. I keep you around because I get the best booty that way."

Jane said "Hermione Jane!"

Richard laughed out. "Oh hush, you're just mad because you didn't think of it first."

AN: I hope you are laughing and enjoyed this last part. I know it is a long way from the story I was writing but I wanted a happy ending. The next time I update will be the rewrite of Harry and Suzy unless another seizure hits and another plot bunny pops out of my ear.


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